


Pride & prejudice

by Oumy



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Chefs, Banter, Bold Magnus, Chef!Malec, Emotionally abusive ex, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Food porn (Not in a kinky way... maybe.. we'll see), Fun, Jaded Alec, M/M, NOT a Jane Austen P&P AU, Past Emotional Manipulation, Past Relationship(s), Rivals, Rom-Com Setting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:08:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 56,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25002907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oumy/pseuds/Oumy
Summary: Ingredients:2 chefs that dislike each other1 month of working together with 0 buffers2 weeks to come up with the achievement of their lives1 chance to explore whatever it is they feel when they look at each otherIn the kitchen ofAlicante, brews the recipe for disaster, or an explosive love story. A Malec AU
Relationships: Clary Fray/Isabelle Lightwood, Luke Garroway/Maryse Lightwood, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Simon Lewis/Jace Lightwood
Comments: 113
Kudos: 403





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello beautiful people! I guess it's time for another Malec romance comedy where I put them in hilarious situations and watch as they fall in love out of sheer insanity, huh?  
> This fic was just what I needed. It brought back the excitment and pure happiness I feel when writing Malec, and I hope that in reading it, you get to feel the same.
> 
> Enjoy <3

The flame jumped out, licking at Alec’s sleeve for a second before he moved the skillet off the stove. He cursed himself internally as he waited for the alcohol to burn out completely before putting the skillet back in its place. It was a rookie mistake, one that Alec hadn’t made since his early days in the academy.

“When you flambé, you need to focus on the skillet, on the fire, and for God’s sake, keep your faces and your aprons away from the fire”, his mentor’s voice echoed in his ears, his bushy eyebrows knotted in consternation as he watched a class of newbies light pans on fire for the sake of haute cuisine. He would have smacked Alec’s neck for the incompetence, urging him to focus on his task and not on the heat emanating from his left.

Luckily for Alec’s ego, nobody caught the mishap. He finished cooking the chicken breast, the soft glaze from the Marsala wine making the chicken look glossy and juicy and perfect. He set up the plate and yelled for service, before moving to the next skillet.

“Alec, how much longer for the salmon?”, Luke’s gruff voice intoned, his calm demeanor so very different from most chefs Alec knew, but no less intimidating.

“Three minutes, Chef”, he replied, making sure that his entire focus was on the filet in front of him. It was a hard task, especially when he could feel the searing gaze boring into the side of his head. Somehow, it burned more than the actual flames in front of him.

Alec wiped the sweat on his forehead absentmindedly, dimly aware of the bustle and clack of the people around him as they entered the final phase of the dinner rush. He didn’t need to see a clock in order to know that it was around ten thirty at night. He could feel it in the heightened pace of the kitchen, as everyone took a collective breath before diving into the frenzy of the work, the promise of a stellar dinner service pushing them hard. _Just this one more plate and it’s over,_ he could imagine everyone mumbling under their breath. Just one more plate before they could clean up and go home, fall into deep exhausted sleep before they got up and did it all over again.

Some people thought that the lifestyle was torture. His brother often rued the lack of social life, telling Alec that he would wither and die in the kitchen as his best years passed him by, but Jace didn’t understand that for Alec, these _were_ his best years, the years where he got to put his sweat and tears into every plate he served a satisfied customer.

 _Well, maybe not literally_ , he thought ruefully, plating the decadent looking salmon and putting it on the counter to be finished. He could have passed the plate to the vegetable section himself, but he was afraid his hand would get chopped off. Luke just looked at the plate and shook his head in resignation, pushing the plate the few feet it took for the savory teriyaki-glazed greens to be artfully decorated around it.

“Ready to go, Chef”, a roughened voice intoned on his left, the searing gaze once again boring into his head. _Wonderful!_

The plate was whisked away to another satisfied customer and Alec focused on the last chicken breast basting in the skillet, telling himself to ignore him.

“He wants to kill you”, his best friend and fellow chef Maia Roberts sing-songed as she passed by him on her way to the pasta station, her hands laden with washed colanders.

“Must be a day that ends with y, then”, he mumbled back, knowing full well she was talking about the bane of his existence. Alec stole a glance at his left, where his co-sous-chef stood, sautéing vegetables in a cloud of doom and fury.

For someone who had been working his ass off for the past twelve hours, Magnus Bane looked extremely put together, his black chef’s jacket clean and tidy, his hat still standing tall. He didn’t look exhausted or overworked. In fact, if it weren’t for the sheen of sweat adorning his forehead and leaving it glistening, Alec would be pressed to believe that he was winded at all. He worked robotically, his hands carrying out tasks that were ingrained into him by practice and habit, his hand gently swirling the butter and garlic in a deep skillet as he lifted a colander of blanched broccoli and swiftly poured it into the pan. The motion of his hand was soothing, a consummate professional conducting everyday chores with ease. Alec knew that half the line cooks looked up to him immensely, awed by his skill and his calm approach to cooking. Magnus never shouted, never cursed, never showed irritation or frustration with his subordinates. Alec knew better, because he knew that Magnus wasn’t an ice pillar, all cool and unaffected like he claimed to be, but actually a volcano that was always two minutes away from erupting, generally when Alec was around.

Even then, as he poked at the vegetables and determined that they were quite to his liking, gently serving them on the clean white plate, his pretty face was marred by the prominent scowl he wore on his face, warning anyone from crossing him. He once heard Simon reverently call it “the focus face”. Maia, who knew better, called it the “thinking up ways to bury Alec’s body” face.

It wasn’t really that Alec did anything to get in Magnus’ way. He seemed to incense the guy simply by breathing, and every day, Magnus seemed to find some grievance he had with Alec, be it a wayward comment, a drop of sauce that was set two degrees to the right of where Magnus preferred it to be, or a general disdain for Alec’s entire existence. It made absolutely no sense and left Alec bewildered more often than not, but he had no wish to understand the inner workings of Magnus Bane’s brain. It was probably filled with indignant self-importance, an unhealthy dose of ego and a giant sack of horse shit.

Today’s grievance of choice had been the station assignment. Never mind that it was Luke who assigned Alec to the protein station and Magnus to the sautéing station. In Magnus’ mind, it was Alec’s fault for taking the coveted spot, and by God, he’d spend the entire evening paying for it in dirty looks and passive-aggressive remarks. If Alec had been a lesser man, he would have confronted him about his biased and highly unreasonable behavior months ago, but Alec knew better than to start a fight with a senior colleague. It didn’t matter that it was his family’s restaurant, that his stepfather was the head chef or that he’d been running around in this kitchen since he could walk. At the end of the day, there was a code of honor to the work they did, and mouthing off at your senior, regardless of them having the same rank, would be seen as petty and childish. And if he were being completely honest, his pride wouldn’t let him show such vulnerability. So, Alec took out his frustration at Magnus in the only way he knew how: by being the best damn cook he could be. And if Magnus had a problem with that…Well, he was welcome to find real fault with his food. By the dirty looks that had carved a hole into his head all night, Magnus hadn’t found any. It shouldn’t make Alec so darn giddy, but he’d take what he could get.

The last remnants of the dinner service flew by in a flash, and soon a server came in to let them know that service was done for the night. No one let their exhaustion show however, because their night was far from over.

Luke turned to them with a clap and a slow grin on his face. He always told them to treat every dinner service like it had been their most crucial. He looked around at the crew and gave his instructions “Alright. Good work everyone. Clean your stations. I don’t want to see a single utensil out of place before you leave for the night. Alec, Magnus, after you finish your stations, do a final inspection of everyone’s work then come into my office, please”

“yes, Chef!”, Alec and Magnus echoed, not sparing each other a single look. The entire kitchen fell into the usual routine, laughter and jokes being thrown around now that the urgency was over with and they were one step closer to being done for the day. Alec could hear Simon singing as he washed the dishes, his raspy voice making the cooks around him dance as they did their duties. By mutual and implicit agreement, he and Magnus never berated them for turning the kitchen into a jam session. Although it did strike him as odd that Bane, the stickler for perfection and rules would be so quiet about this, Alec didn’t argue. Maybe if he joined them himself sometimes, Magnus would put an end to the chill atmosphere. He only seemed to find a problem with Alec after all.

Alec would never admit it, but in the first few months after being hired as sous-chef in _Alicante_ , Magnus’ attitude had chafed. He understood that it may have been jarring for him to have to share rank with someone who was years younger, but Alec had at the very least expected a fighting chance. He had come prepared to prove his worth, show Magnus and the entire kitchen that he wasn’t just the new guy who’d gotten the spot because of family connections, but because he was genuinely good at what he did.

Ten months later, he had managed to convince everyone but the guy whose opinion actually mattered. He had quit his previous workplace to leave behind a toxic and stressful work environment, but somehow fell right into another one. At least back then he’d known exactly why he was being treated like a leper. Here, he just stewed in frustrated ignorance.

For all of Magnus’ faults, he was a good chef, and an even better boss, which meant that clean up went as smoothly as ever, the two of them going through stations and checking that nothing was left in the kitchen that would invite rodents or insects. Every person whose station was checked was free to leave, and soon, the only people left in the kitchen were Alec, Magnus and Maia, who was getting Magnus’ stamp of approval.

While Magnus counted her colanders and ticked off the checkboard in his hand, Maia tried her best to have a silent conversation with Alec. He had never been particularly good at charades, but if he understood correctly, Maia wanted him to talk to Magnus and try to relieve the tensions between them. He wanted to tell her that it would be akin to trying to set a lake on fire, absolutely pointless, but even he recognized that they needed to solve their problems, especially with the deadline of next week looming in his head.

He rolled his eyes at his best friend and made a dismissive gesture, telling her that he’d think about it, but the stubborn woman huffed and stomped her foot angrily, drawing Magnus’ attention from the stove he was inspecting. He turned partly sideways and looked between the two of them, and Alec felt a flush rise on his cheeks. He hadn’t done anything but still felt like a child being scolded. He hated that he cared about Magnus’ opinion of him as much as he did. It brought him nothing but headaches.

Magnus cleared his throat and, sounding extremely reluctant, said to Maia “Is something the matter?”

Maia, who Alec noticed didn’t look the least bit concerned about being caught, just smiled cordially at Magnus and waved her hand ambiguously “Oh, don’t worry about it. I just wanted Alec to give me a ride home. It looks like it’s about to start raining any minute”

_Always quick on her feet, that one!_

Magnus hummed mysteriously and turned back to the stove, throwing casually over his shoulder “I hope that doesn’t mean that you’re trying to leave early, _Chef_. Tonight is your turn to go over tomorrow’s menu with Luke”

Alec didn’t even blink at the condescending way Magnus said the word “Chef”. He’d gotten used to that somewhere between month three and four. In fact, he wasn’t even surprised that Magnus’ prejudiced brain had jumped straight to the conclusion that he would ditch his duties, as if Alec wasn’t every inch as diligent as him.

Alec simply looked at Maia out of the corner of his eye, pining her with an accusatory stare that silently said “ _See who you want me to make peace with?_ ” and replied evenly, his gaze settling on Magnus’ broad shoulders “Don’t worry, Chef. I always pull my weight”

“Huh”, his pig-headed coworker muttered, as if the thought amused him. One of these days, Alec was going to kill him. He could see it happening in front of his eyes.

Before his thoughts could get any more morbid, Luke appeared in the doorway to his office and looked at them expectantly “You guys almost done?”

“Right on time”, Magnus smiled gently, his face containing none of the blank coldness he usually reserved for Alec. If he didn’t know that Luke and Magnus had been friends for a long time, he would think that Magnus’ smile was nothing but fake pleasantry, because it seemed impossible for the same person to have completely different personalities depending on who he was dealing with.

Maia slipped by them, waving goodbye to him and making a sign for him to call her when he got home. He nodded and watched her head to the locker room to change out of her uniform and into street clothes.

Luke knocked on the doorframe to his office and walked back in, leaving him and Magnus to follow. They did their usual receipt count and books in relative silence, that was only broken once Luke asked them whose turn it was to deposit today’s money in the bank. Magnus confirmed that it was his task and they went back to their work.

Luke waited until they were both done before addressing them “So about next week”, he started hesitantly, and Alec barely kept from groaning out loud in misery.

“I am aware that a month is a long time, especially in a professional kitchen, but I have faith in both of you to keep from burning it to the ground while I’m gone”

Magnus just smirked at his friend and said sarcastically “The only reason you’re taking a month off is because you trust us? Really, old man?”

“Who are you calling old, you punk?”, Luke chuckled, throwing a pen at Magnus, who caught it on instinct, his smile widening.

Alec looked away, discomfited. _Two personalities. It had to be!_

Luke continued, his hand reaching to scratch at his beard “It’s not every day a man finally marries the love of his life. Maryse wants to travel across Europe for a while, and frankly, I’m tired of getting all you rascals to stay in line. I need a vacation too”

Alec couldn’t help the smile on his face as he heard Luke call Maryse the love of his life. If there were ever two people who deserved to be happy and in love, it was his mom and Luke. It had taken them a while to finally get here, and he couldn’t be happier for them. He just wished it didn’t have to mean he’d get stuck with a co-chef that hated him.

He cleared his throat and jumped in, keen to get this discussion settled so he could go home and dive into his bed, leaving Magnus and his angry stares and weird smiles behind. “Don’t worry about the kitchen. We can handle it”

He ignored the way Magnus shifted in his seat at the “we” statement and watched his stepdad nod his head, looking satisfied “I know you can. We’ll hammer out the details next week. I know you’re both exhausted. Magnus, you can take the money to the bank and head home. Alec and I will finish up here”

Magnus needed no further incentive, swiftly bidding them goodbye and leaving, the door clicking closed behind him.

Alec watched the closed door blankly for a few seconds, trying to make sense of the guy. He would be six feet under before he managed to understand what Magnus was thinking.

“I see you guys are still not getting along”, Luke started carefully and Alec let out a humorless laugh “You could say that, yeah”

Luke sighed and scratched his beard, the telltale sign that he was deep in thought “I’m not going to lie, Alec. I don’t like this situation at all, and before you say anything”, he continued when Alec opened his mouth to defend himself “I know it’s not your fault. I’ve spoken to Magnus and he insists that he has nothing against you. He’s my friend and I know that he’s a good man who doesn’t go out of his way to cause trouble for people. Has he actually sad anything or done anything aggressive towards you?”

Alec didn’t have to think on it “Outright? Never. He’s just ice cold to me, and as you just witnessed, it shows”

Luke nodded absently and argued “I can’t go away for a whole month feeling reassured while you two are still locked in this cold war. A ship with two captains is already in deep shit. One with two captains who hate each other is bound to sink”

Alec had come to the same conclusion himself. After all, he couldn’t be left in charge knowing full well that Magnus would argue his every decision, if not reject it entirely. No kitchen had time for inner struggles between head chefs. It made for a poor work environment and would just cause unnecessary stress for everyone. Their cooks would go nuts trying to stay neutral, so he’d come prepared for this talk.

“Give him the head chef position for the month. I’ll be his sous-chef”, Alec suggested.

Luke’s eyes widened a bit in surprise “You’re serious? You’d step down from leading the kitchen? You guys both deserve the spot”

“I know”, Alec agreed and it wasn’t out of ego that he said so. He knew that he could efficiently lead the kitchen. He also knew that despite his words to Luke earlier, Magnus didn’t trust him with a butter knife, let alone leadership. This month would be his final attempt at making that stubborn man understand what he was capable of.

“You know what working at _The Institute_ taught me, Luke? To pick my battles”, he continued, knowing his stepfather knew exactly which battles he’d embarked on and lost at his previous job.

“I know that despite sharing rank, Magnus has at least five years of experience on me, not only in the field but in this kitchen. He’s more than capable of leading this place for a month. In fact, he would probably do a better job at it than I would, for now”, he couldn’t help but add with a smirk. “As for me, it would mean I get to stay in my job, one that I know inside and out and am very comfortable with. You know that us butting heads every other day over every decision would be a nightmare”.

He shrugged with a carelessness he didn’t entirely feel “I care about the restaurant more than about being in charge for a hot minute. When I do take that head chef spot, it won’t be because my parents went away on their honeymoon, it will be because it mine to take”

Luke threw his head back and hooted with laughter “Son, you just solved a huge issue. And don’t think I can’t see through you. I know that you’re making a big sacrifice here. All I can say is thank you”

“Don’t mention it”, Alec smirked and picked up the menu for tomorrow, knowing that he still had the grueling task of checking every meal’s ingredients to make tomorrow’s inventory easier.

Forty minutes later, Alec finally got off the couch and stretched his body, feeling every joint and bone ache with a hard day’s work. He waved goodbye to Luke who was tidying up his ever-growing mess of paperwork and walked through the door. He remembered something and poked his head back in “Luke, I meant what I said earlier. Don’t mention it”

Luke just blinked at him in confusion and Alec huffed and elaborated “Don’t tell anyone I stepped down from the head chef position, especially not Magnus”

Luke looked like he wanted to argue but Alec shook his head “He won’t see it as an olive branch. Knowing him, he’ll probably think that I’m leaving him scraps or something. Just give him the valid reasons we both know are true. He has more experience and a kitchen under one chef works better than two”

Luke just stared at him for a moment, as if trying to see his actual motivation and Alec wanted to laugh and tell him that he didn’t even understand why he was doing this himself; It certainly wouldn’t do him nor his career any favors, and yet, he waited until Luke gave him his word and walked out, changing into his clothes at the speed of light and stepping out the back door of _Alicante_ into the humid drizzle of rain. A glance at his phone told him that it was three o’clock in the morning and that he had three missed calls from Isabelle and two messages from Maia.

He ignored both notifications and pocketed his phone, walking toward the parking lot and already imagining the moment he would fall into bed. He couldn’t wait for this day to end.

* * *

One of the perks of sharing an apartment in Tribeca was that Alec could comfortably make the trek to the restaurant in the East village on foot if he chose to. There was nothing more nerve wracking than having to take traffic into consideration every time he had to go to work. Another even more important perk was that the excruciating price of rent in such a pretty neighborhood was significantly more bearable, and yet, as Alec listened to his brother putter around in their tiny shoebox kitchen, he considered the merits of spending his entre salary on rent and thought that it might not be such a bad deal after all.

The clock on his phone told him that it was barely eight o’clock in the morning. He didn’t have to be at the restaurant until ten and he would have appreciated another hour of sleep, but listening to Jace actually start to sing as he made breakfast, Alec knew that he would be getting no such thing. He rolled his eyes to the heaven, feeling his headache flair up at the action. With his chaotic sleep schedule, he walked around with perpetual migraines, to the point that he didn’t notice them anymore, unless he was rolling his eyes at his siblings’ antics, and knowing his siblings, that was not a rare occurrence.

He walked out into their bright living room, his mouth still open in a yawn to find his little brother singing to Doris Day’s _Que sera, sera_ as he flipped blueberry pancakes in the pan; he looked over his shoulder at Alec, his golden mane of hair all over the place. _He needed a haircut like yesterday_.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty. I didn’t hear you come in yesterday”, Jace smirked at the glare Alec was throwing him, turning back to his pancakes.

Alec ignored the sleeping beauty comment. His brother was the only morning person in their family and it made sharing a living space with him utterly unbearable at times like these.

“I came in at around Three”, Alec mumbled, his feet carrying him to the pot of liquid gold that was done percolating on their counter.

“Jeez, why are you up already then?”, Jace said absentmindedly and Alec delivered a well-deserved smack to the back of his head.

“Ow, what?”, Jace rubbed his head before noticing his brother’s pointed stare and smiling sheepishly.

“Sorry. I forget that you lead the lifestyle of a vampire sometimes. At least I made pancakes”, he said hopefully and Alec just sipped his coffee, slightly burning his tongue on the hot liquid and not caring.

He held up a container of white creamy goodness in his hand and continued trying to lure Alec into forgiveness “I also made honey ricotta to slather on the pancakes” and Alec gave in with a sigh and settled on one of the barstools of their breakfast nook. Jace made the best pancakes Alec had ever had and they had yet to fail as an apology.

“Knew you were a sucker for it”, Jace smiled in triumph and put the warm pancakes on the counter.

They ate in silence, Alec savoring the fluffy goodness and the burst of warm tangy blueberries on his tongue. The honey ricotta balanced out the sweetness and brought a distinct saltiness that went perfectly with the fruit and pancake. It elevated the whole dish from a regular breakfast treat to a savory feast of deliciousness and he couldn’t help his chuckle. It always amused him that the one person in their family who’d wanted nothing to do with culinary arts was actually the most naturally talented one. When they had been children, Alec, Jace and Isabelle had spent most of their free time running around industrial kitchens. They had learnt how to make the perfect scrambled eggs long before they had learnt how to ride a bike. That was what you got when you were the offspring of a very busy surgeon and an ambitious chef. Between their mom’s shifts at the hospital and their father’s up and rising restaurant, they’d had to choose between being raised by nannies and housekeepers, or dallying all their free time at the restaurant. Naturally, their choice had been the latter.

Alec didn’t regret it. He wouldn’t exchange his childhood memories for anything. On nights when missing their father became a physical ache in his chest, scrolling through those memories in his mind was the only thing that soothed the pain.

“Any plans for the morning?”, Jace asked, shaking Alec out of his thoughts. He focused back on his food and told his brother “I have to be at the restaurant for inventory around ten”

“Riveting stuff”, Jace mumbled sarcastically. Alec knew that Jace hated how much time he and Isabelle spent at the restaurant. As the manager, Izzy spent significantly less time there than Alec did, but he couldn’t deny that it hindered their social life immensely.

“Yeah? You think so?”, Alec couldn’t help but poke at his brother, “How about you come help me out if you think so? I know you have a secret kink for pantries and storage rooms”

Jace snorted and drained the last of his coffee, arching a brow at Alec and dishing his usual sass “My kinks are usually related to living people, thank you very much”

“Gross”, Alec threw back, dipping his finger into the jar of ricotta and getting a blob. Jace just looked at him in disgust “Really? And you’re calling me gross? Use a spoon, you savage. How are you employed at a restaurant?”

“I have an in with the owners”, Alec replied, wagging his eyebrows and the two of them cracked up at the joke. They both knew how absurd the statement was. Alec had had to deal with a lot of crap to get his current job, but that was a tale too bitter to get into at breakfast.

As if sensing where his thoughts were headed, Jace cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable and asked “Have you heard from him lately?”

Alec made a conscious effort not to screw up his face in a frown. Acting nonchalant had become a habit to stop his family from worrying needlessly “No, I blocked his number a while ago. Why do you ask?”

Jace fidgeted in his seat and kept his gaze on his empty plate “He called me a couple of days ago, asking about you. He said he had something to talk about”

Alec could feel his headache get sharper, his ears ringing ominously. Why couldn’t he just disappear? Why did Alec have to deal with the fallback from one lousy decision for the rest of his goddamn life?

Jace looked up and accurately gauging his mood quickly reassured him “I told him to fuck off, obviously, and made it clear that you had no urge to get in contact with him. I just thought you should know”

“I appreciate it, but like I said, I have him blocked. Unless he has the balls to come up to me in public, which we both know he doesn’t, nothing will come of it”. Alec tried to convince himself of the words as he spoke them; Jace nodded in agreement and they lapsed into a loud sort of silence, one that was awkward and filled with the memories of a time that Alec would rather forget. Determined to stop his day from being ruined, he tried to focus back on their original conversation.

“How about you? Any gigs tonight?”, he asked, getting up to clear the table by silent convention. Jace had cooked, so Alec cleaned.

“They’re called concerts, not gigs. I’m not in an indie band”, Jace said haughtily and Alec smiled gratefully at him. You could always count on Jace to take the hint and lighten the mood.

“What’s wrong with indie bands? Our new kitchen porter is the vocalist in a band, and he keeps serenading the crew when at cleaning time. It’s nice”

“Good for him, man, but it’s not really my scene. And to answer your question, yes. It’s going to be my last concert before the wedding next week”

“Oh? Do your dainty fingers need the rest to play the wedding march?” Alec kept on teasing. In reality, he was so proud of his brother for pursuing his dreams. He had wanted to be a pianist since he could remember and every time Alec got to watch him play in front of hundreds of people, confident and happy, it made his heart burst with joy.

“Ass”, Jace muttered, delivering a well-deserved smack to Alec’s head as payback for earlier. “Anyway, I don’t have to be at the concert Hall until Three, so if you were serious about needing help with inventory, I can swing it”

Alec really didn’t deserve his brother. “Sure, man. You don’t need to help me, just keep me company until people start coming in around midday”

Jace nodded in agreement and moved towards his bedroom “Okay, let me get a quick shower in and we can go. I want to stop by Mom’s on the way”

After getting fussed over by their mother for half an hour, Alec and Jace finally managed to make their way to the restaurant, having been roped into no less than three wedding tasks they hadn’t had before.

Alec gave Jace the stink eye and his brother had the audacity to grin at him mischievously “Oh come on. Relax! How many times does our mother get married?”

“Twice”, Alec muttered sullenly and Jace made a sound of dismissal “Yeah, but you weren’t born for the first time around. You can’t count it”

Alec just huffed and unlocked the back door that led straight to _Alicante_ ’s gigantic kitchen. The scent of the cleanser assaulted his nostrils and he knew that in a few hours, that smell would be replaced by a barrage of competing spices and odors, all highlighted by the heat of flames. That unique mixture was home for Alec, the only thing that remained stable in his life, no matter where he went. The bustle of the kitchen would always soothe his nerves.

Jace made little comments about new gadgets he hadn’t seen the last time he was in the restaurant, as they walked through the space, passing by stainless steel countertops and black iron griddles that gleamed in the light. They reached the pantry and Alec handed Jace a face mask, gloves and a hair net, as well as little plastic sheets he could wear over his shoes. Jace didn’t argue. He knew that they didn’t mess around with health and safety regulations.

Alec took a quick trip to the locker room to get changed into his uniform before joining his brother in their huge pantry. The work he and Luke had done the night before meant that it was easier for him to check off the ingredients he needed and make note of what amenities were running out, in order to place deliveries. They had daily and weekly deliveries for things they always needed, such as root vegetables and varieties of protein that were always on their menus, but there were certain ingredients that needed special orders, like shellfish and fresh Asian greens that they used only occasionally.

His brother started telling him about an opportunity he was considering for a collaboration with one of his favorite artists, and Alec half-listened as he ticked through his list, when an incredulous voice snapped his attention to the pantry door.

“What are you doing here?”, Magnus asked as he crossed his impressive arms in a defensive pose, his silhouette barring some of the sunlight from the room.

Alec couldn’t help the ball of resentment that lodged into his throat. He was sick of the micromanagement. What? Did Magnus come to supervise him? He’d been doing inventory for months for fuck’s sake.

“I have inventory”, Alec uttered slowly, like he was talking to a dimwitted child, and by the narrowing of Magnus’ eyes, he didn’t miss the tone.

“I don’t mean you, I mean him”, he lifted his chin at Jace, who was looking between them with something akin to interest. Alec usually kept his tumultuous relationship with his co-chef out of his personal life. Something about telling his siblings or his mother about Magnus’ aversion to him felt like acknowledging that there really was something wrong with him that Magnus was picking up on. He couldn’t help it with Maia and Luke and the rest of the crew, who got to witness their interactions firsthand. He had no plans for his brother to pick up on how uncomfortable work had been for him. Jace had a protective streak a mile wide.

“He has protective gear on and isn’t touching any of the produce”, Alec replied evenly, hoping to keep the irritation from his voice.

Jace chuckled, his eyes still jumping between the two of them before settling on Magnus and hitting him with a signature Jace smirk, the one that usually made guys fall at his feet and made Alec want to smack it off his face.

“Come on, Magnus. I’ve been in the kitchen enough times to know how to be safe. I had a couple of hours to kill and thought it’d be cool to keep Alec company”

Alec was struck mute by the familiarity in his voice, especially as Magnus looked back at his brother and his expression lightened significantly. Something ugly rose in Alec’s chest before he remembered that Magnus had been working at _Alicante_ for at least five years while Alec was away at school and then later working at _The Institute_. It made sense that Jace would be familiar with him as he came by the restaurant.

“As long as he doesn’t make you do the work for him”, Magnus said teasingly and Alec couldn’t help his reaction. Two pairs of eyes flew up to him as he set a can of pineapple a little too loudly on the shelf. Magnus’ brand of passive aggressiveness was like a noose that was slowly tightening on Alec’s neck. He was so fucking sick of waiting for Magnus to get a personality transplant or get tired of picking on him. Enough!

“When have I ever delegated my work to someone, Magnus?”, he ground out in a growl and Magnus’ eyes widened. It seemed as if he was just as surprised as Alec by the outburst. A few moments ticked by in awkward silence before Magnus cleared his throat and laughed under his breath, as if he was reminiscing on an inside joke.

“Whatever you say, _Chef_. Just finish up before the kitchen crew starts coming in”, he threw out and left the pantry, his tall frame disappearing back into the kitchen.

One of these days, Alec was going to deck him and deal with whatever headache came from it. Every day, he became more certain of this fact.

“Soooo”, started Jace, raising his hands peacefully when Alec turned his still furious glare on him, “Mind telling me why the temperature dropped a few degrees in this room just now?”

“It’s nothing”, Alec muttered, picking up the check list and trying to shake off the remnants of his anger. He refused to spend an entire dinner service in this cloud of negativity Magnus put him in.

“It didn’t look like nothing. I have never seen Magnus act snarky to anyone before. Did you piss in his food or something?”

“Why do you assume it’s my fault that he has a stick up his ass?”, Alec said and Jace snorted.

“Okay, I don’t want to fight. You already look strung out. Let’s just get this done and get out of here”

Alec wanted to point out that Jace wasn’t doing anything to start with, but his brain was still stuck on his brother’s comment. What _did_ Alec do to deserve Magnus’ treatment of him? Some days, it felt like he would be dead and buried before he got a real answer.

* * *

The tinkle of champagne glasses and joyous laughter drifted in the night air and Magnus took a deep breath and let himself absorb all the good vibes around him. The crisscrossing lightbulbs adorned the scene around him in soft whimsical light. Grass rustled under his black oxfords as he walked on the outskirts of the makeshift dance floor, where the newlyweds were softly swaying to Leon Bridges’ _Beyond_ , their heads close together, emanating so much love and contentment. Luke raised his head slowly and looked at his bride, his face splitting in a wide grin. Magnus had known the man for years. While his smile was always a fixed ornament on his face, it always looked extra bright when he looked at Maryse. Magnus was glad that his friend had found the kind of love that made him soar in happiness, but he couldn’t help but feel a slight melancholy as he gazed at the couple. This feeling was new. Usually, Magnus loved weddings, fed on their chaotic energy and adored the feel of absolute madness that stirred in their air, but lately, every celebration just drove home how lonely he felt. The stab of envy he felt as all his close friends and acquaintances found their life partners wasn’t all that awful, but it was still there.

He sidestepped a gaggle of children who were shrieking as one of them picked up a tiny bug from the grass and started using it to freak the rest out, chuckling as a woman ran after them, threatening them with TV times and video games destruction. Everyone seemed to be having the time of their lives, drinking, enjoying the good food that Luke had insisted would not be cooked by his staff, despite Magnus’ arguments that their food would be better. He had been right! Not that he would tell him that. He wasn’t tactless enough for that grave faux-pas, not to mention that Luke had had a point. Magnus would have missed out on the fun had he actually catered the wedding feast.

He drifted around, silently cursing Catarina for her double shift at the hospital. He could have used her companionship today. It wasn’t that he wasn’t close with his staff. In fact, he was fairly sure that if he approached any of their tables, they would be more than happy to hang out with him, but it looked like everyone had brought their significant others and Magnus hated to bother people. It just further drove home the fact that he was utterly and completely lonely.

His best friend Victor always told Magnus that he was too sensitive to people. “People are rarely ever as bothered as you think they are, Magnus. Not everyone overthinks life the way you do”, was Victor’s usual mantra when Magnus refused to be the odd man out. But his best friend didn’t have Magnus’ reservations. He bulldozed through relationships with a zeal for life that was unparalleled. It had been that tenacity that had put him on the map as one of the most promising rising chefs in the country. Magnus sometimes wondered if the reason he was stuck where he was professionally, was due to his more careful approach to life. Maybe that was what he needed. A little boldness. Hell, maybe he needed some boldness in his personal life as well. After all, Victor was getting married in a month because he went for what he wanted, and Magnus… Well, Magnus was still standing on the sidelines, quite literally.

Right then, the song that had been playing faded into nothing and the voice of _Alicante_ ’s kitchen porter sounded over the loud speaker “Thank you everyone. I hear that it’s time for a special dance”

Simon looked at home on the stage, his guitar hanging around his neck as he and his band serenaded the wedding party. He had no idea how the part-time rocker, part-time porter had gotten hired for the ceremony, but he guessed Luke’s big heart had something to do with it. He had to admit that Simon and his band weren’t doing too bad a job. Simon’s voice carried romantic classics well, his raspy vocals make the song covers seem both vintage and completely authentic.

The musician continued, smiling at the crowd, knowing he had their unabashed attention. “Now, can we get Alec Lightwood and Clary Fairchild on the dance floor please? It’s time for a parent/child dance”. The crowd started clapping and cheering as Clary and Alec stepped into the dance floor.

From his vantage point, Magnus could see Clary smiling lovingly at her father, her red hair framing her face in beautiful waves, her forest green gown looking stunning on her slender frame. Luke kissed her forehead, eliciting a few “awws” from the crowd, before leading her into the gentle melody that had started playing.

Magnus told himself not to look even as his gaze jumped a few feet away to where Alec had equally started leading his mother, the cut of his black tux exquisitely framing his broad shoulders, his hair looking a complete mess that shouldn’t appear as appealing as it did. It just went to show that the outside rarely matched the inside when it came to beauty, or Alec Lightwood had somehow been missed by that particular curse. Alec was smiling down at his mother, telling her something that made her throw her head back and laugh loudly. For all his faults, he seemed to be a good son, not that Magnus knew enough about Alec’s relationship with his family. It didn’t stop Magnus from disliking the man. After all, Alec’s affection toward his family didn’t distract from the fact that he was entitled and spoiled.

Even as Magnus thought of the words, they sounded wrong in his head, causing him to frown a bit into the glass of chardonnay that he’d been nursing for the past half hour.

“So, the singer. Alec said that he’s the kitchen porter at the restaurant. Simon, right?”

Magnus turned his head from Alec’s back to his right, to find Jace and Isabelle sitting side by side at their table, their chairs tilted enough to give them full view of the dance floor where their brother twirled their mother to the crowd’s ooohs and ahhhs and _who was Magnus kidding_ , a few sighs as well. Alec was a highly sought-after bachelor, and he’d already heard no less than three grandmothers ask if he was single. Either they had granddaughters they were planning to throw at him, or Alec was high commodity in the granny circles. Magnus was still undecided.

“Yeah, he’s working part-time to cover some of the band expenses. Why do you ask?”, Isabelle asked and Magnus really didn’t mean to eavesdrop on their conversation. He just happened to be standing nearby in a strategically dark spot where no one could see him, and they just happened to be talking loud enough for him to hear. He could move, he supposed sullenly, but he could see Ryan, the pastry chef at _Alicante_ a few feet away, stumbling about, massively sloshed, and Magnus knew that if the man spotted him, he would have to listen to him cry about his divorce for an hour. He felt for the guy, he really did, but Magnus already had enough woes to keep him company for the evening.

“Is he single? Can you hook me up?”, Jace asked his sister, his smile mischievous as Magnus had ever seen it. He suppressed a chuckle, grateful for the somewhat darkened spot he’d taken up, as Isabelle rolled her eyes and turned away from him.

“No”

“No, he’s not single, or no you won’t hook me up?”

“No, I won’t hook you up”, Isabelle rebutted and Jace slapped a hand on his chest, offended.

“Why ever not? I’m a catch, and as my sister, you have family obligation to be my wing-woman”, he argued passionately and Isabelle flicked his forehead without looking back at him.

“You’re also a heartbreaker. Simon is Clary’s best friend since childhood, and if you break his heart, which you will, my girlfriend will be upset and I will have to chop off your nuts, which I will”

Isabelle turned her head to give her brother a saccharine smile that contrasted with her statement, making Jace cross his eyes at her like a five-year-old. Magnus felt amusement curl his lips. He should have been hanging out with these two clowns all night. Maybe his sour mood would have lifted.

“That’s such bullshit, Iz. I don’t break hearts. I’m upfront with people about my intentions. It’s not my fault some guys get attached. Not that I can blame them. I mean, have you seen all this?”, he motioned to his body that was currently sprawled in a fit black tux similar to his brother’s.

Isabelle rolled her eyes and turned back to watch the dance floor “I don’t know how your ego fits in that pea sized brain of yours. I’m not helping you hook up with Simon, and if you do end up making a move on him, I reserve the right to chop off your nuts”

“Stop talking about my nuts, woman. Fine, forget I asked you for help. I’ll see if Alec is any more helpful”

Isabelle snorted “As if Alec would get into your messes. You forget that’s the guy who banned your hook ups from the apartment”

Jace flinched, rubbing his neck adorably. “After shower gate, I can’t say I blame him”, he muttered and Isabelle hooted with laughter “You guys gave it a name?”

The pair looked at the direction where their brother was still dancing and both cracked up, falling into each other as they shook from laughing too hard.

“Oh, man. I thought he was going to kill me”, Jace wheezed in between gasps and Isabelle snorted, wiping tears of mirth from the corners of her eyes “He had bright platinum hair. I’m surprised he didn’t kill you”

“ _I look like fucking Matt Pokora, Jace_ ”, Jace narrated in a growl that Magnus thought was supposed to be an imitation of an irritated Alec, and the siblings lost it once again, Isabelle letting out a noise that sounded like a dying animal. People couldn’t help but look back at them in amused confusion.

Magnus couldn’t keep his lips from stretching into a grin as he imagined the ever-stoic Alec Lightwood sporting blond hair. It was the most absurd thing to imagine. Alec was what one would call the definition of tall, dark and handsome. In Magnus’ opinion, the dark was the most interesting feature about him. He had dark, strong brows, long black lashes that gave him an air of beguiling innocence and pale skin that sharpened those features immensely. Platinum blond was decidedly not his color.

“It’s not my fault that Michael turned out to be crazy. How was I supposed to know he would fill the shampoo bottle with hair bleach? Fucking psycho”, Jace argued, his body still twitching with vestibules of his laughter.

“They’re all psychos, Jace. That’s the issue”, Isabelle answered with a smile as she clutched her stomach, trying to calm down.

Jace, who was still chortling, looked back in the direction of the dance floor and chuckled “He looks so fucking uncomfortable”

Magnus looked back in the same direction as if in trance, even as a part of himself warred with it. From his perch in the dark corner, Magnus could see Alec and his mother dance, their movements telling of rehearsed fluidity and innate grace. Somehow, he couldn’t imagine the same guy who worked alongside him every single day for the past ten months, taking time off his day to rehearse a waltz with his mother. But then again, Magnus hadn’t made an effort to get to know what Alec would and wouldn’t be amenable to do.

“Don’t mock. You know he’s bad with crowds. He’s probably itching to get back to his seat”, Isabelle said, her tone sounding sympathetic and now that she’d mentioned it, Magnus could detect a slight tightness to Alec’s smile, his blank mask twitching with discomfort.

_So, Lightwood didn’t like crowds. Huh._

“I told him not to do it. Mom would’ve understood if he’d rejected the idea”, Jace argued.

“She would’ve been upset nonetheless. Alec would never”, Isabelle countered, and that was the crux of Magnus’ problem. That was precisely why his head was a giant mess of confusion half the time when he thought of Alec Lightwood. It was like Alec just didn’t fit anywhere in the landscape of his mind.

He was supposed to. From the moment Magnus had been notified that his new partner as sous-chef would be none other than the restaurant owner’s son, he’d known exactly where to slot him. In the same lane as all the entitled assholes he’d spent his entire career dealing with, chefs with little skill and less talent, who’d scaled the ranks of an already vicious industry on the shoulders of nepotism and friends in high places. For Magnus who’d grown up having to fight tooth and nail for every achievement in his life, being equated to a guy five years his junior had been an insult that his ego still hadn’t recovered from.

Moreover, Magnus was aware of the horror stories of what had went down at _The Institute_. He knew that Alec was the living example of everything he hated about entitled jerks. Lazy, disrespectful and determined to slide through life relying on his family’s good standing and the legacy of his father’s work. The fact that he got to get away with it and walk away to a sous-chef position at a prestigious kitchen like _Alicante_ was the last nail in the coffin of Magnus’ respect for the man.

And yet…And Yet, Magnus sometimes found it hard to reconcile that same man to the guy that worked alongside him for more than twelve hours a day. He still had that arrogant _je ne sais quoi_ about him, still thought himself to be the best thing to happen to the _Alicante_ kitchen, which managed to set Magnus’ teeth on edge… But in the ten months since Alec had set foot in their kitchen, Magnus kept waiting for the infamous tantrums, the volatile temper, the utter disregard for authority and rank, but nothing seemed to give. Alec kept his head down and did his work. Could it be because he’d already messed up so badly at his first job? Possibly. Could it have to do with _Alicante_ being his family legacy that he wanted to protect? Surely. Magnus had thought of all these different scenarios why his perception of Alec didn’t match everything he knew of him, and frankly, lately it was getting harder and harder to write Alec off as a lazy good-for-nothing. There were still moments where he wanted to wring the guy’s neck, but he usually had to remind himself of the vile things he knew about Alec in order to keep the animosity intact. It didn’t make any kind of sense. It was like Alec had received a personality transplant before he’d been hired at _Alicante_.

It didn’t help that Alec never complained about Magnus’ standoffish behavior. After all, Magnus hadn’t made it a secret that he disliked having him around, and from the way Alec had snapped at him last time after their argument in the pantry, he was well aware of the fact.

The memory of that day ignited in Magnus a fire that he was becoming accustomed to.

“ _When have I ever delegated my work to someone, Magnus?_ ” Alec had asked, his eyes blazing with an unnamed emotion that Magnus had never seen on his face. He was right. Magnus had never seen Alec ask anyone to do his work for him. Hell, he didn’t know what had compelled him to say the words in the first place; An inherent superpower to put his foot in his mouth and some remnant reflex from the first few months of Alec’s employment when he’d spent half the day looking over his shoulder, waiting for the other shoe to drop, for Alec to show his true colors and prove him right; Yet, that day had never come and Magnus had grown to reluctantly trust Alec to do his work at the very least.

The thing was, he wished it was guilt over his unwarranted comment that had kept Magnus up for three nights in a row over the past week. No, his dilemma had more to do with the way his name had sounded coming out of Alec’s mouth. The fact that it had been the first time Alec had called him by name let him know just how distant and apprehensive Alec was to him. Thinking back, they both only referred to each other as _Chef_ , always injecting a heap of snark into the word. Magnus hadn’t realized just how affected he would be, hearing Alec utter his name in a snarl, the tone of his voice making Magnus’ heart go off at a gallop, skipping a beat in a way it had no business doing.

God, it was all so fucking stupid! Magnus was not lusting after a man he disliked. He wasn’t. _He wasn’t._

He looked back at the dance floor as polite applaud broke out, to see Alec smile down at his mother and kiss her cheek, delivering her to her groom before leading Clary off the dance floor. The pair walked in his direction, clearly approaching the table where Isabelle and Jace were sitting; Alec swept a hand through his hair, somehow managing to make it even messier, soft strands gently framing his head. He smiled more genuinely now that he was free from his duty, chuckling at whatever anecdote Clary was sharing with him.

His head lifted and his gaze zeroed in on Magnus immediately and he nodded in greeting, the shadows from the hanging lights casting a hood over eyes Magnus knew to be captivatingly bright. He didn’t realize that he was holding his breath until he felt himself deflate as Alec and Clary took their seats at the table, dismissing him as quickly as that. Magnus took another long swig of his glass and forced himself to swallow in one go. Luckily, he had tomorrow off to get his shit together and clear his head of whatever crazy ideas he was entertaining, because come Monday, he was going to be Alec’s boss and he couldn’t afford to think of anything besides keeping their kitchen running perfectly. Alec laughed heartily at something his brother said, his husky voice carrying on the night breeze and Magnus fought off a goddamn shiver.

_Christ, it was going to be a long month._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm back with another chapter. You may have noticed that the story is now going to be in 4 chapters instead of 3. Apologies. The third act was always supposed to be the longest but the word count was getting out of hand so this makes me feel more balanced and hey, it means the story gets to last longer, right? _, said no one who was reading a WIP ever!_
> 
> Hope you enjoy <3

“And now we’re going up to Piazzale Michelangelo to watch the sunset. I heard that the view is beautiful from up there”, Maryse chattered excitedly and Alec couldn’t help but smile. She had only been gone a week, but he could already sense the happiness bursting out of her.

It had been long overdue for his mother to take this trip. Listening to her talk about all the beautiful sights she was visiting and the people she was meeting made Alec realize just how lonely she must have felt over the years since their father had passed away. Alec’s heart squeezed in his chest and he said a silent thank you to Luke for making his mom happy again. It was heartwarming to listen to the smile on her face over the phone. Alec could imagine it perfectly.

“It is. You guys should hurry if the sunset is in 40 minutes. That place is crowded and you’ll miss out on the good spots if you’re too late”, he explained, remembering his internship in Florence and the endless evenings where he and his friends had taken a case of lemon beers and made the trek to the Piazzale to watch the sunset, their hearts soaring with youthful energy and zeal to take over the world. The memory felt like ages ago and with a start, Alec realized that it had only been five years ago. It was incredible how much time took a toll.

“Also, keep your purse close to you. The crowds are infamous for pickpockets”, he continued, shaking his head as he walked to work, his headphones in and his hands in his pockets. He swerved around a tree that was shedding golden leaves, declaring to the world that Fall had arrived in full force. He loved these streets. They were loud and filthy and boisterous, but they had so much character. They told stories and history and dreams of people coming to this city with nothing but hope. It was impressive how despite all the disappointment in the world, all the disillusionment, people still hung their dreams on New York city, still chose to take a leap of faith on this concrete paradise.

His mom’s answering laughter roused Alec from his thoughts, making him smile.

“Don’t worry, Luke put all our essentials into a satchel that he is proudly wearing around his waist”, she explained and Alec burst out laughing, imagining Luke wearing a fanny pack, in full tourist mode.

“Tell me you have pictures, Mom. Please”, he begged and Maryse laughed “Maybe”

They kept each other company until Alec made it to the restaurant, his day just about to start as hers was dipping into night. He bid her goodbye with promises to check in again in a few days and hung up. He reached for his keys to unlock the back door, seeing that the deadbolt was already unlocked. Magnus was early, then.

Surprisingly enough, the _Alicante_ kitchen was still standing after the past week. Alec had been dreading the transition, thinking that he and Magnus would butt heads every day over every little decision, but against all odds, the past week had been the most peaceful he’d had since he started work at _Alicante_. Maybe it was because Magnus now had the upper rank, but the man had been very agreeable as of late. He wasn’t warm and fuzzy, but he was at the very least, less standoffish than Alec was accustomed to.

They had operated with the kind of synergy that Alec had longed for in the past ten months. Magnus gave his instructions, his usual snark less prominent than usual, and Alec made sure that those instructions were carried out with utmost perfection. Even their daily conversations about menus and deliveries had been civil. _Read: Alec hadn’t felt like his skin was peeling every time Magnus looked at him._ All in all, Alec was feeling quite hopeful about this month.

Naturally, the moment Alec had the thought, life was bound to fuck him over, because that was life and it was one nasty vindictive bitch!

“Alec”, a voice that Alec never wanted to hear again called his name, making him spin around to see his ex… _something_ standing two feet away.

Victor Aldertree looked the way he always did. Sharply pressed button-down shirt tucked into a pair of chinos. The look was completed with velvet loafers like he was on his way to the douchebag Olympics. His beard was trimmed and his hair slicked back with a goop of gel that Victor always said smelled of pines but Alec knew it smelled like rotten eggs. Victor couldn’t let himself unwind enough to appear as anything other than perfect. The thing was that his definition of perfect differed from Alec’s. That was where everything had gone to shit.

“What are you doing here?”, Alec asked, grateful that his voice didn’t crack or tremble.

“You’ve been avoiding me”, Victor said haughtily, like Alec was an imbecile for not knowing the answer.

“I’m not avoiding you, Victor. I just have nothing to say to you”, he argued. “You need to leave. I have work to do”

He moved to open the door when Victor’s hand landed on his upper arm. Alec’s reflex was pure instinct. He grabbed the hand and twisted it to its limit, watching the man he’d once thought mattered more to him than his damn career squirm in pain.

“Don’t fucking touch me”, he snarled, barely recognizing his own voice. Damn it, he should have paid more attention when Jace told him that Victor was looking for him.

“You don’t want me to break your precious hand, _Chef_ , so I suggest you don’t get handsy”

He let go of the hand abruptly, using the momentum to push the man away from him. Victor massaged his hand and speared Alec with a look of pure ire.

“I see that you’re still a brat. I knew that Luke wouldn’t be able to give you the discipline you needed”

Alec breathed through his nose, telling himself not to make a scene right in front of the restaurant. He didn’t want Magnus to catch wind of this. It would just be more ammunition for him to use.

“And who would have disciplined me? You?”, Alec asked scornfully, getting antsier by the minute “Is that what your obsessive controlling behavior was supposed to be? Discipline”

Victor arched a sculpted eyebrow, straightening clothes that wasn’t out of place to start with “I didn’t control you, Alec. I guided you. If you want to convince yourself that I was some big bad wolf that took advantage of you, then that is your prerogative. You were young and aimless and you needed all the help you could get. I won’t apologize for that”

“Fuck you”, Alec told him, knowing how much Victor disliked it when people cursed. He believed that it was unseemly and distasteful. Alec knew that it was just another part of the carefully constructed persona Victor showed the world. As if he could mold himself into a perfect chef, a perfect man. What a load of bullshit!

“That’s not nice”, Victor lamented and Alec snorted. Did this asshole think that the mind tricks still worked? Alec may had been dumb enough to mistake his overbearingness for affection the first time around, but he wasn’t dumb enough to fall for it twice.

“I’m not nice, Victor. Especially not to you. How about you say what you came here to say and get lost. My patience is running thin”. Alec knew that trying to ignore him would just give him more motivation to seek him out again. Victor was obsessive like that. In the professional circle, they called his attitude tenacious. Underneath, he was just an asshole who couldn’t take no for an answer.

“I’m getting married”, Victor announced imperiously, as if he expected Alec to burst into tears at the dramatic declaration. Was this a joke?

“Good for you. I feel for the poor idiot getting hitched to you. What does that have to do with me?”

“There is no need for jealous pettiness, Alec. I actually came here to tell you that my offer still stands. My marriage will happen to serve a purpose and that purpose has nothing to do with us. I am willing to forgive you for leaving the restaurant like that, without as much as a day’s notice. I can even forgive you for ignoring me and blocking my number for the past year. I kept waiting for you to come to your senses but you seem adamant to make a point, so here I am, telling you that your point has been made”

Alec stared at the man who had made him feel like he was the center of the world at the start of their relationship, before he got smart enough to realize that being the center of someone’s world wasn’t necessarily a good thing. He felt the tendrils of shame that he’d let himself get so deep into such a toxic relationship, that he’d been too slow to read the signs, then too insecure to cut them. It had taken all his courage to leave like he did, and he’ll be damned if he let Victor’s specific brand of psychological warfare bring him back down. It was funny how the same speeches that used to paralyze him with anxiety and fear now felt like the mad musings of a maniac. Alec guessed that that was the perspective that time and distance provided.

“You’re insane”, he told him. “You are clinically insane. Did you think I was playing a game with you? What? I was being coy when I left without a backward glance after you made sure that I had no one to turn to? After your passive aggressive remarks and stupid lies made the entire kitchen crew ostracize me?”

He chuckled humorlessly, watching Victor’s eyes narrow as he realized that he wasn’t going to get his way. His egomaniac tendencies really knew no bounds “Let me say this once and I promise you that if I ever see you lurking around after this, I will be the entitled brat you had everyone convinced I was and I will use my family’s name to bring you down; I have no interest in being your dirty little secret, nor your emotional punching bag. We are done, in every single way. If I even catch a whiff of you slandering my name again, or making up any more of your grotesque lies, I will take you down. Now get the fuck off my parking lot”

Alec stood still, staring Victor down. He refused to show trepidation even as he felt his hand shake a bit. He clenched his fist, watching as Victor huffed a disappointed sigh and lifted his chin, acting nonplussed.

“There’s no need for dramatics. I have no intention to be where I am not wanted. See you around, Alec”

“No, you won’t”, Alec rebutted, and Victor rolled his eyes and walked towards his car. Alec didn’t know how he’d missed the shiny black sedan when he first walked into the lot. He didn’t wait for Victor to drive away. He opened the back door with shaking fingers, beyond grateful that none of his coworkers had shown up during that embarrassing scene. He closed the door behind him and leaned against it, letting out a deep breath. He’d dreaded this reunion every single day since he’d unceremoniously quit his job at _The Institute_ , but there he was, alive and well and healthy. A bit shaken, but he’d put his foot down and stood his ground. Isabelle would tell him that he should be proud of this milestone, and he was. He was going to be okay.

* * *

Magnus stared at the bare wood beams crisscrossing on his loft ceilings, willing their shadowy corners to have the answers he needed to go to sleep. He had been turning and tossing for two hours and so far, sleep alluded him. Usually, he never had trouble nodding off. After a day spent doing physical labor that demanded his full concentration, he was exhausted enough to slip into a deep sleep the moment his body hit the sheets. Tonight was different. In his desperation to get some shut eye, Magnus had even turned on his ceiling fan, hoping its motion would hypnotize him enough. That had lasted for an hour, until it got too cold to ignore. Fall in New York was no joke.

Frankly, Magnus knew that sleep wasn’t in his lot tonight. After all, he could feel how tight his muscles were, how his teeth were still grinding together, could feel how clenched his jaw was. He wanted to punch something. No, not something. He wanted to punch Victor Aldertree’s smug lying face.

Magnus had always prided himself on being a good judge of character. He thought that he knew how to surround himself with people of his elk, people who were honest and hardworking and good. Today had taught him an important lesson; He had overestimated his own instincts. Since meeting Victor in culinary school, they had formed a tight bond, forged by similar modest backgrounds and a hunger for success. They had considered themselves the good people, the ones that would make it because of their mettle, because they were talented. When their careers went different ways, Victor’s skyrocketing into fame, while Magnus’ remained stagnant, he had looked up to his best friend, telling himself that it was due to Victor’s talent that he had made it big, that it was due to his tenacity.

As his best friend, Magnus had trusted Victor implicitly, which was why he hadn’t doubted him even for a second when Victor had moaned and whined about Alec Lightwood. No, like a good friend, Magnus had taken Victor’s words at face value, writing off a man he did not know because his best friend had told him that he was bad news. God, his heart hurt. It hurt because Magnus couldn’t get over the guilt of the last ten months combined, when he’d been an utter jerk to someone who did nothing to deserve it.

He tried to remember every instance of Victor telling him detailed accounts of Lightwood’s antics in the kitchen, the way he would show up late or not at all, the way he would foist his work on other people without thought or care. Hell, he’d seen the result of an alleged Lightwood temper tantrum when he’d punched the sous-chef at _The Institute_ in the face. The man had walked around with a swollen eye and a crooked nose for weeks; Every single time he had asked Victor why he didn’t just fire the guy, Victor would make a subtle comment that Alec’s background made him worry about his career if he did. The Lightwoods didn’t own chains of restaurants or sit on committees that could decide such fates, but Alec’s father had been one of the most renowned chefs in the history of Americana cuisine and for that, they had influence that went beyond what he or Victor would ever be capable of amassing. So, he hadn’t pushed his friend. He had simply listened and stood by the man and the day that Alec had unceremoniously quit _The Institute_ , Magnus had wanted to celebrate and had been confused by Victor’s seeming anger. His mind couldn’t comprehend how all of it could be a lie, how deeply deranged someone had to be in order to make up intricate stories that would ruin someone’s future.

He wished that he could blame it all on Victor, and maybe he should. After all, Magnus had believed someone he trusted and how should he have known that Victor was simply making up wild tales to make Alec’s life a living hell? But Magnus’ heart squeezed in shame and remorse because his instincts had known. He _had_ known that something felt off, that the Alec he knew of, and the Alec he knew were worlds apart, and yet he’d still elected to give him the cold shoulder, instead of digging for more facts. He hated that Victor had made a villain out of him. He hated himself for falling for it so easily.

It was eerie how quickly a decade long friendship could crumble into nothing, like a house of cards against a cold breeze. When he’d looked through the office window that morning and seen Victor walk out of his car in the lot, Magnus had been a bit puzzled but happy to see his best friend. After all, Victor had never visited him at work, always making jokes about stepping foot in enemy territory. Naturally, Magnus had walked out to greet him, only to stop in front of the closed kitchen door as he heard Victor call Alec’s name. He wasn’t a naturally nosy person, but he knew how much Victor hated Alec for being a lazy employee that had skipped out on his job with no qualms. There should have been no reason why he would intentionally seek him out. Magnus still remembered the day he’d called Victor, irritated that Alec had been hired as a sous-chef at _Alicante_. It had been the one and only time in ten years that he’d heard his friend curse. Victor had never mentioned having a relationship with Alec that went beyond professional, but hearing him tell Alec that he wanted him back, that he was willing to cheat on his future husband just to keep him quickly corrected Magnus’ beliefs on the matter.

The longer Magnus had stood behind that door, listening to Victor’s poisonous smug words and Alec’s hate-filled ones, the more he realized just how utterly duped he had been. The betrayal had burned through his skin like acid. It had taken all his willpower not to barge into the reunion and demand an explanation then and there, but he’d known that it wasn’t his place, especially as he listened to Alec confess the extent of how foul and manipulative their relationship had gotten. Magnus’ fists had clenched as protectiveness roared through him. Alec’s hurt had been so clear in his words and Magnus felt the need to take that hurt away at any price, knowing full well that he’d perpetrated to some of it as well. There was no room for pride in that equation. Alec’s hurt was that of a man who had clearly suffered and been villainized, and Magnus had done nothing but make it worse. His heart had hurt so badly then that he’d needed to lean on the counter next to him to keep standing.

There was no amount of groveling that would make up for the remorse Magnus felt at the thought of Alec. Every time he had alluded to Alec’s behavior as a flaw, every time he had ignored his opinion on the basis that he was a poorly-skilled chef… Every little interaction was burning through Magnus’ brain, warring with the pain of being betrayed by one of his closest friends.

He’d spent the dinner service in a fog, simply going through the motions, doing his best not to meet Alec’s eyes. He knew that his shame was written all over his face and he didn’t know how to handle it. He was sure that his staff felt something was off about him, but fortunately, no one had called him out on it. Alec had even come up to him at the end of dinner service and simply told him to head home, that he would take care of closing.

His voice had been so gentle, as if worried that whatever was going on with Magnus would make him burst into tears if he raised his voice a bit, and Magnus almost did. As he had taken Alec up on his offer and walked into his office to take off his jacket and get his keys, the only thing that looped through his brain was “ _What have I done?_ ”

Was it possible to restart time so that he could meet Alec Lightwood with fresh eyes? He wondered what he would find if he did so. He wondered if he and Alec would have managed to become friends by now. He thought of his kitchen staff and how they had warmed up to Alec in the past ten months, how Maia had taken to him instantly, how Ryan and Youssef trusted his opinion. He thought of the way his name had sounded on Alec’s lips and wondered if it would’ve been possible for him to explore his awareness of the man, if Alec would have been just as aware of him, had he not been the world’s greatest asshole.

There were so many ifs to consider and Magnus’ head pounded from overthinking all the possibilities. He didn’t know what to do next. His phone vibrated on the nightstand, rousing him from his thoughts and he checked the screen to see Catarina’s reply to his message from hours ago.

Catarina: _Hey, my shift just finished. You still awake?_

Instead of replying via text, Magnus pressed the call button and brought his phone to his ear. His friend’s exhausted voice echoed in his ear, sounding a bit surprised at the late call.

“Hey, I didn’t think you’d be up. It’s 4am. I got your message to let you know when I was done with work”. Catarina was an RN and her schedule meant that keeping in touch was a game of whack-a-mole.

“Yeah, I’m up. Are you home?”, he asked, sitting up in bed and leaning his back against the headboard.

“Getting there. I had to stop at the 24-hour bodega to get some stuff for breakfast tomorrow. My cupboards are practically empty”, she explained, her voice slightly out of breath.

“That’s because you refuse to take me up on the offer of getting your groceries”, he teased. Unlike Catarina’s sporadic schedule that left very little time for mundane things like grocery shopping, Magnus usually had free mornings as he didn’t need to be at the restaurant until midday. He had been offering to help his old friend with chores for ages, but Catarina was more stubborn than most.

“Don’t start. You’re busy enough as is. Besides, knowing you, you will fill my fridge with greens and healthy shit that will mostly go rotten because I am never home. I sustain on eggs, toast and a whole lot of takeout”

“The wise words of a health professional”, Magnus said sarcastically and Catarina laughed “Bite me, Magnus”

“So, what is it that was so urgent you had to call me at 4am?”, she continued after a moment and Magnus squeezed his eyes and joked halfheartedly “Can’t I just want to talk to my friend? We haven’t spoken in a week”

“Uh huh”, Catarina said unconvincingly and Magnus could feel the smile in her voice. “I’m sure that’s the reason why you’re awake after an exhausting day”

Magnus laughed and tilted his head up to look at his darkened ceiling. The only light came from the moonlight slowly seeping through the window. It casted the entire room in blues and greys, much like his current mood.

“Well, that and I need your opinion on something”, he admitted.

“Now, we’re getting somewhere. What is it? Did your sous chef piss you off again? Or is it your trusty _best friend_?”, Catarina asked teasingly, unaware of how close she was to the truth. She had never been a big fan of Victor’s, always telling him that he was too smug for her liking, which was partly the reason why he wanted to tell her what happened. Catarina’s instincts had proven to be much sharper than his, and he knew that she would be able to make sense of the jumbled mess in his head.

And so, he told her the entire fucked up sordid tale. He told her about the conversation he’d overheard, the lies Victor had fed him for months, the way it always felt like they were talking about two different Alec Lightwoods. He talked until his throat felt sore and his chest felt tight and uncomfortable.

Silence met his monologue before his friend whistled low and said “What a mess, Magnus. Oh my God!”

“Tell me about it”, he agreed sadly.

“What are you planning to do? Have you spoken to either of them?”

“That’s what I was hoping you would help me figure out, and no I haven’t. I have no clue what to say to Alec and I’m not sure I can talk to Victor without punching him”, he admitted, the twisting in his stomach unrelenting.

“I always knew there was something off about that man but this is insane. Manipulative abusive shit”, she cursed. The product of a broken home and an alcoholic abusive father, Catarina had no tolerance for the likes of her old man.

“I feel like such an idiot for believing him. I thought of him as my best friend, Cat. If I can’t tell that my own closest mate is a piece of shit, what does that say about me?”, Magnus voiced the niggling thought that had plagued him for the entire day.

“It says that you’re a good person who chooses to see the good in people. Don’t twist this into being your fault, Magnus. People like Victor are very careful about what side of themselves they show you. They get off on tricking everyone into their good graces. What matters is that once you got proof that he was not the man you thought he was, you didn’t just disregard it”

There was no way he could disregard what happened. In fact, despite telling Catarina that he had no clue what to do next, Magnus knew that his relationship with Victor was over. There was no recovering from this. It wasn’t a simple lie that one could forgive and forget. The man had actively sought to sabotage his own ex-boyfriend’s life, an ex-boyfriend he’d abused and taken advantage of. For all his faults, Magnus could never forgive that. The fact that he’d unwittingly made Magnus an accomplice of his games made the decision easier to make.

“Good. I’m glad you’re decided on this”, Cat approved when he explained. “I suggest you call him and tell him that you’re done with his games. Don’t give him time to argue, because he _will_ twist the truth to suit him”

“You can’t think that I am susceptible to his words after everything that happened!”, Magnus argued, offended that she thought he was that easy to manipulate.

“I wouldn’t insult you by suggesting that, but it will be a pointless conversation all around. Just give it to him straight and hang up”, she said and after a moment of silence exhaled “As a nurse, I shouldn’t say this, but I hope he gets hit by a truck one day”

Magnus couldn’t help his smile. Cat was a gentle soul at heart, but fierce in her principles. In a way, Victor was the antithesis of everything she stood for in life.

“Thanks, Cat. I know you must be tired. Sorry I dumped this on you”

“Don’t apologize. That’s what friends are for, Magnus. Now, what do you plan to do about Alec?”, she asked and Magnus swallowed roughly. Alec, _Alec, Alec_. God, he had no fucking clue!

“I can’t just walk up to him and apologize. He doesn’t even know what I would be apologizing for”

“Well, you can’t just keep ignoring him in the hopes that he would disappear. You guys are coworkers. You’re his boss right now”

“I know, and trust me, this whole boss thing has been going a lot smoother than I thought it would”, he admitted then sighed “I guess the only thing I can do is make it up to him by being less of a dick”

Cat was quiet for a few moments before saying “I don’t know, Magnus. That feels like you’re taking the coward’s way out”

Magnus knew what she meant and while he did agree with her, there was one thing that he _did_ know about Alec Lightwood “If I tell him now, Cat…With the way things stand between us, he will never talk to me again”

Cat spoke hesitantly and Magnus could tell that she was genuinely surprised by his words “I didn’t think you cared one way or the other”

Funny how that happened, wasn’t it? You took off your blinders and suddenly, what until a few days ago was nothing but the status quo became akin to a death sentence.

Magnus thought about continuing as they were, the cold shoulders, the skating on thin ice, the barely acknowledging each other… He felt bile rise in his throat. He had used these same actions to shut Alec out for a very long time and now, he could finally see that he hadn’t just done them because of Victor.

He swallowed and buried that line of thought deep somewhere where he couldn’t think of it. He refused to think of it; No, Magnus was going to fix this mess and he knew how. He couldn’t apologize just yet. Despite Cat’s words of him being a coward ringing true in his ears, Magnus knew that he needed to prove to Alec that he was more than the asshole he’d painted himself out to be first. He needed him to know the real Magnus.

He explained this to his friend, and the wisest woman he knew hummed mysteriously and spoke with a tremor of amusement running through her words “Well, it ought to be interesting to say the least; I look forward to frequent updates on the whole situation and Magnus”, she added with an intensity that made him focus on her words “Don’t forget that you were lied to as well. This isn’t _just_ your fault”

It wasn’t as black and white as Cat made it out to be, but he didn’t want to argue with her about his part in the problem, so he agreed and promised that he’d try to sleep soon. After a few more assurances, the two bid each other goodbye and hung up.

Magnus settled back down in bed, trying to think of the hundred different ways in which he could make it up to Alec, and felt heat rise up his neck as his thoughts took a most inappropriate turn.

“Ugh, so not the time, Magnus”, he whispered, berating himself. His brain, as unhelpful as ever, conjured up the lushness of Alec’s hair and how Magnus had entertained the thought of how soft it would feel between his fingers. He imagined walking up to Alec after a long night of work, putting his hands on Alec’s shoulders and kneading the tension out of them. How would Alec’s broad frame feel under his palms, his muscles giving in to Magnus’ ministrations as Alec let out a deep groan of relief? Would Magnus’ hand slip a little to lower the fabric of Alec’s jacket just enough to see the full tattoo that sometimes peaked through his collar? Would it be small and significant, or a statement piece that wrapped around his shoulder and peck and made him look like a warrior? Magnus wouldn’t have admitted it a few days ago, but he was slightly obsessed with that tattoo. Every time the black swirls showed through Alec’s jacket collar, Magnus wanted to trace them with his tongue. There was just something about tattoos that was inherently sexy.

A horn blasted in the street, shaking Magnus out of his inappropriate thoughts and he rubbed his hands over his face, hoping to regain some common sense. There would be no massaging nor licking of any kind. Magnus was going to fix this mess. He would be the chef he should have been and give Alec a chance to prove himself in a way he hadn’t all this time, and hopefully by the time Luke and Maryse returned and life went back to normal, the two of them would have salvaged some sort of professional rapport to coexist as sous chefs. Then and only then, he’d think about explaining his atrocious behavior. Any lust or awareness he felt for Alec Lightwood would be kept tightly under wraps. Magnus couldn’t afford another fuck up. This was too important. He didn’t dwell on the reasons why it was.

* * *

Alec hated being the bearer of bad news. He especially hated being the bearer of bad news after an exhausting night.

 _Alicante_ offered brunch on Sundays for as long as he could remember and it was always a big affair. It was the kitchen staff’s favorite day of the week, despite having to come back to work after only leaving a few hours before. They got to work half a day and then relax for the entire evening as well as Mondays, when the restaurant was closed. He didn’t know if it had been his late father or Luke who had thought up this system, but he was grateful for their forethought.

 _The Alicante_ brunch menu changed every week, a delicate offering that was curated by their chefs on the basis of the freshest produce in the market, and the trendiest most delicious dishes they could create. It was fun, lowkey, but still fit perfectly within the restaurant’s high-end reputation. It was a great outing for families as well as friend groups and morning dates. As Fall descended fully on the city, people came out in droves, relishing the morning sun before the days got too dreary for outings.

Luke had discussed the brunch menus for the next four weeks with Alec and Magnus and delivery orders had been set in place weeks in advance to account for quantities and suppliers. The entire purpose of anticipating this was to avoid last minute mishaps that could throw the entire kitchen for a loop, and yet, there they were, dealing with a fuckup from their butcher who’d somehow delivered them bacon instead of prosciutto. Most people would just shrug their shoulders and substitute one for the other, but for a professional kitchen, this could be an utter disaster.

“Should we draw sticks on who gets to tell Magnus about this?”, Maia asked Alec as he closed the storage unit. Everyone had already gone home for the night and Magnus was in the office, probably waiting for Alec to go over the brunch menu and call it a night. Maia was already shrugging out of her jacket, her brow slick with sweat, the bandana she usually wore around her head during dinner duty wonky and falling off.

Alec smiled as he ruffled her curls, earning a glare from her. He knew that had it been anyone else, they’d already be out a finger. “Nah, you head on home. It’s my job to let him know and figure out what we’re doing about this”

“I hope you gave the guy a stern talking to. This is a rookie mistake”, she asked.

“It’s not the delivery guy’s fault. He’s probably already exhausted working the night shift. I’m not taking it out on him, but I did leave a voicemail for John at the Butcher shop telling him that he’s going to compensate us big time for this mess”

“Hello free filet mignon”, Maia sang, making Alec laugh. She grabbed her bag and closed her locker door, before turning to look at him and squinting slightly “You don’t look like you’re worried about this. Have you gotten so used to Magnus biting your head off that it no longer phases you?”, she joked and Alec shrugged a bit. On the contrary, Magnus had been very mellow since they’d been left to their devices, even more so in the past couple of days, where his mind always seemed elsewhere.

If it were anyone else, Alec would have asked them if there was anything he could do to help. Magnus seemed burdened by whatever was weighing on his mind, and it was making Alec feel weird. He didn’t know how to deal with a moping Magnus, and had never actually thought that he would have to try.

“Let’s just say that I have a plan and a big part of it is sounding confident. You can’t let them see you sweat, Roberts”

Maia snorted and kicked his shin as she walked out of the locker room, making him flinch “You sound like a bad self-help book. Just don’t get murdered. My birthday is next month and you promised me a spa day”

“Jeez, woman. Your priorities are out of whack”, Alec exclaimed, still jumping in place to soothe the sting from her kick. “Don’t worry. I have a feeling that I’ll live to see another day”

“Here’s to hoping”, she prayed and waved goodnight. “See you tomorrow”.

Alec watched her disappear through the back door, then went back to the storage unit, feeling quite excited. He had a plan.

Twenty minutes later, Alec was a bit concerned that Magnus hadn’t come out to see what the delay was about. It wasn’t like Alec was being quiet as he cleaned up the mess he’d made and set the final plates on the counter.

Feeling his brows notch in worry, he walked to the office door and knocked slightly, waiting for a response. When none was forthcoming, he tried the door handle, finding it unlocked and pushed in.

“Chef?”, he asked, before his eyes zeroed in on the office chair where Magnus was slumped, eyes closed and breathing slowly. _Shit._

He fidgeted slightly at the entrance, unsure whether he should disturb Magnus’ sleep or leave him to rest. Magnus was acting differently and it was probably due to exhaustion, but still, it was past midnight and he should probably be in his own bed. Plus, they needed to make a decision about tomorrow’s menu, so despite Magnus’ relaxed sleep, Alec could do nothing but walk deeper into the room, coming around the desk to stand next to his chair. The man was completely out of it, his face serene in sleep and Alec couldn’t help but take a few moments to contemplate the scene.

Magnus looked boyish in sleep, the tightness that usually accompanied his features nowhere to be found. His eyelashes were fluttering ever so slightly, fanning his cheekbones and giving him an air of innocence that nearly stole Alec’s breath away. He’d always known that Magnus Bane was a handsome man. It was a fact written in stone and on he’d been aware of since he laid eyes on him, but he had scarcely allowed himself the indulgence of exploring his features. He’d always been hesitant to be caught staring, to get a scathing remark that would do their relationship no favors. Here and now, however, Alec could admit, Magnus Bane was utterly beautiful. He would have been content to sit there and catalogue his face for another period of time, but he was aware of the rise and fall of Magnus’ chest as small puffs of air escaped him in sleep. They both needed to get some rest, and so with great remorse, Alec cleared his throat slightly and called out to him “Chef?”

The man did not even stir, and Alec couldn’t help letting a small smile loose. He must have been exhausted. He stepped forward and gently shook Magnus’ arm, startling the man into waking up.

“Sorry”, Alec started before Magnus had the chance to get upset, “I would let you sleep, but it’s almost 1am and there’s something I need to talk to you about”

Magnus took a few more moments to get his bearings, blinking almost owlishly at Alec before shaking his head and bringing his hands up, to rub at his face “No, no. Sorry I fell asleep. Haven’t gotten much shut eye last night”. His words cut off abruptly and he cringed as he looked up at Alec, as if Alec was supposed to be privy as to why Magnus hadn’t gotten much sleep.

Confused, Alec tilted his head in silent question, and Magnus looked away and sat up in the chair, randomly tidying up a stack of invoices on the desk in front of him.

“Anyway, what did you need to talk about?”, he asked the table and Alec took that to mean that he wouldn’t be getting an answer. Unwilling to push, he walked backward to stand on the other side of the desk and told Magnus about the bacon switch up.

“Ugh, they’re going to owe us big time for this”, Magnus echoed Maia’s words and Alec assured him that he’d already left a message for John, telling him the same.

“Good”, Magnus nodded in approval, causing something warm to curl up in Alec’s stomach. Now on to the tough sell.

“Now, I know that fried eggs and bacon is a bit less _Alicante_ ’s style than prosciutto was, but I’ve got an idea about how we can make the best of this”

He didn’t realize that he was holding his breath until Magnus arched a brow and motioned for him to continue “Let’s hear it”

“Actually, I was hoping you’d taste it”, Alec explained with an impish grin, asking Magnus to follow him into the kitchen.

Looking more intrigued by the minute, Magnus got up from his seat and followed Alec to the kitchen where he’d plated two options.

“So, I was thinking, instead of the usual fried eggs and bacon, we could cook baked eggs in cream and bacon, with province herbs and buttered ciabatta toast”, Alec explained, pushing the plate closer to Magnus.

“And if you’re not a fan of that idea, then I changed it up a little with a BLT. I know you might think it’s not up to par, but if you could give it a taste first?”, he asked, pushing the second plate towards the man that was still silently looking between the plates and Magnus.

After a few more moments of silence, Alec finally asked “What?”

Magnus cleared his throat, looking a bit uncomfortable as he croaked out “We could have just talked about it. You didn’t need to go through the trouble of making the dishes right now”

Surprised by the words, Alec just chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. _Well, I’ll be damned; I didn’t realize that was an option when it came to you._ He didn’t say the words, but from the way Magnus was fidgeting, looking exceedingly uncomfortable, he had understood them anyway.

“I have a tendency to put my effort where my mouth is”, he said and Magnus groaned and stepped forward to grab a fork and table knife “That sounded so wrong”

Alec’s grin froze on his face as the man who had been against his every idea in the past ten months tried his first dish, eyes widening as he spread some of the eggs on the bread and took a bite.

“The chili was a nice touch”, he murmured, chewing carefully. Alec barely kept from smiling and muttered a quick thanks under his breath. Magnus swallowed the bite he’d taken, then washed it down with the glass of water Alec had set for him.

Next, he moved to the BLT sandwich and cut it in half, taking the time to look at the inside. He asked absentmindedly “Is that cheese in there?”

The question wasn’t accusatory, but Alec still bristled and argued “I used gruyere to counter the saltiness from the bacon. Try it”.

Obediently, Magnus picked up the sandwich and bit into it, chewing before turning to Alec with an arched brow that made his palms sweat. He knew it tasted good; He’d perfected this recipe after numerous times and he knew that it was a winner, but he wasn’t sure that Magnus would let him experiment with fusion cuisine enough to go for it.

“Coconut… Well, shit”, Magnus murmured, taking a second bite and closing his eyes in what was hopefully, bliss.

After consuming the first half of the sandwich in silence, Magnus turned to him and crossed his arms over his chest, awaiting an explanation. Magnus explained how basting the bacon in coconut chili sauce before putting it under the grill gave it that unique smoky sweet flavor. He’d used arugula instead of lettuce because it was less bland and carried the flavors better.

Magnus nodded his head and asked “And the bread. There’s a salty taste of fermented soybean but I can’t be sure”

He couldn’t be faulted for his palette. “Oh, I used miso butter to toast the bread”

Magnus looked at him a bit more and as much as the staring was making Alec feel self-aware, he could tell that Magnus was sizing him up. Wasn’t that what he’d wanted out of this month? A chance to show him that he wasn’t as useless as Magnus thought he was? True, it wouldn’t only take a BLT and some baked eggs, but it was a start. He wasn’t sure that Magnus had ever tried his food before this very moment.

“Is that something you’re interested in?”. At Alec’s blank look, he prompted “Fusion cooking?”

Alec was genuinely surprised by the curious tone. Magnus had never shown any interest in getting to know his preferences. He cleared his throat and replied “Yeah, actually, it is; I’ve had the fortune to taste food in some great places around the world and the idea that you can take a dish that is plain and homely and infuse it with other cultures and styles and elevate it into high cuisine, while still letting people recognize that simple comforting food they know intrigues me”

He was afraid that he’d said too much, but Magnus just looked away, his lips twitching slightly and nodded.

“Have you tried dressing the arugula before?”, he redirected the conversation, still digging through the second half of the sandwich.

Alec snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head “I didn’t want it to go soggy”

Magnus thought carefully then suggested “Use walnut oil and balsamic vinegar. If we’re making the sandwiches on demand, it won’t be long enough for the greens to go soggy, and the dressing will be sharp enough to balance out the saltiness. The cheese has to go, however. It doesn’t bring anything to the dish”

Alec nodded, taking the criticism seriously. He wasn’t pompous enough to think that he knew everything to be learnt, and honestly, despite his less than ideal relationship with Magnus, he trusted his opinion. He was a better and more experienced chef. All he’d wanted was to prove himself worthy of a place at the table.

“Okay, I guess we avoided trouble given the late notice and the ingredients we have to work with”, Magnus said, carrying the dishes to the sink to clear them. He threw over his shoulder as he went “Be prepared to brief the cooks on the recipes in the morning”

Despite the speech he’d given Maia about confidence and coming equipped with a plan, Alec was still surprised that Magnus hadn’t shut him down. As Magnus stacked the plates at the sink and moved back towards the office, Alec finally recovered speech enough to ask “Wait, which dish are we going with again?”

“Both”, Magnus told him and smiled at the baffled look on Alec’s face. “You can go first, I’ll lock up. Good job, Chef. See you in a few hours”

Alec stood there looking at the empty office door through which Magnus had just disappeared, feeling warm and validated. It wasn’t until he was almost home that he realized that it was the first time Magnus had called him “Chef” and sounded like he actually meant it.

* * *

The door leading to the dining area opened and Alec looked up to see his brother standing there with a baffled look on his face, looking around the utter chaos of the kitchen.

Alec couldn’t blame Jace for looking confused. The scene around him was straight out of a Disney musical, as Simon led the crew on a rather spirited rendition of Fun’s _Some nights_. It was a song meant for a choir, and the line cooks and prep staff were doing their best to live up to the occasion. Between the stray pitches and enthusiastic bellowing, the kitchen probably looked a mess, but there was a jubilance in the air that made everyone smile infectiously.

“What are you doing here?”, Alec asked over the singing and Jace approached him cautiously, still looking around as Maia reached a high note and actually didn’t sound like a dying seal. She’d always been an overachiever, that one!

Jace looked like he was holding a laugh in as he came close enough to hear Alec “What on earth is going on?”

“It’s cleaning time”, Alec said, as if it explained everything. From Jace’s head tilt, it didn’t and Alec chuckled and explained how this was a nightly routine.

Jace smiled and looked around as the staff reached the choir part and collectively danced around their stations “They’re just so…”

“Loud?”, supplied Alec.

“I was going to say enthusiastic, but yes, that too”

“Luke always let them do their thing, and Magnus doesn’t seem to be complaining”, he nodded his head to where their head chef was cleaning his own station, his head bopping in harmony. He didn’t have to handle cooking in general, but Maria’s kid had fallen ill last minute, and they’d been short staffed.

“If I knew professional kitchens could be operated this way, I wouldn’t have been so against joining one”, Jace told his brother, his head bopping with the song.

“Not all kitchens, trust me. We happen to have a singer in the mix”. This tradition hadn’t started at _Alicante_ until Simon had come along. He’d been singing under his breath during clean up one night when Ryan had overheard and started chanting along. Not long after, everyone had joined in on the tradition, and surprisingly enough, the singing made everyone more focused on cleanup. It passed the time quickly and made everyone look forward to one of the most tedious tasks of working in a kitchen. And so, the _Alicante_ kitchen looked like the set of Cinderella every single night.

“Ah, yes. The singer”, Jace said and there was something about his tone that made Alec look up at him searchingly.

“What are you up to?”, he asked slowly, knowing how his brother operated.

Jace saw his skeptic look and waved him away “Stop looking at me like I eat babies for breakfast. You and Izzy are so dramatic”

“Oh, no! Izzy has already warned you off, which means that it’s bad. He’s a sweet guy, Jace”

Alec loved his brother, would literally die for him, but his brother was not the epitome of committed relationship guy. He went through guys the way Justin Bieber went through Calvin Klein underwear. Once and then in the trash.

_Don’t ask him how he knew that. It was a random piece of trivia that Clary had shared one day and that had, against his better judgement, somehow stuck!_

Jace looked annoyed by the warning and shook his head “Stop. Just stop. I’ve been on Izzy’s tail for two weeks for his phone number and she wouldn’t budge. I promise that I just want to get to know the guy”

By the way Jace looked around him to where the porter was singing about worship and lovers, having moved on to Hozier’s _Take me to church_ , Jace wanted more than to get to know him, but Alec had said his piece. He didn’t like nagging, and his brother was old enough to assume the consequences of his actions.

He sighed and focused on cleaning the stove, squirting more cleaning liquid onto the greasy surface “So, what’s the plan? A drink after work?”

“Actually, I want him to come to my concert next week. You guys don’t work Mondays”, Jace explained, reaching into his pocket to show Alec a ticket.

Alec chortled and had to put his hands on the counter to hold his breath as he looked at his scowling brother “Let me get this straight. Your idea of a first date is to have the guy sit in the audience and watch you be the next Beethoven for two hours? Jesus, Jace! Your arrogance knows no bounds”

Jace groaned and poked Alec’s side “I’m only on for half of it. I’ll take him to dinner before obviously. I wasn’t raised by wolves”

“You better”, Alec teased. “Isabelle would legit chop off your nuts”

“Would the two of you stop with the nut talk?”, Jace muttered, dejected.

“Do I even want to know?”, Magnus chuckled as we walked by them, obviously having caught the tail end of their conversation.

Jace and Alec looked at each other and cracked up. “Not really”, Alec admitted and Magnus smiled at him, causing a little unwelcome flutter in his stomach.

His boss turned to Jace and crossed his impressive arms over his chest, arching a defined brow “Why are you in my kitchen during working hours, Jace?”

Jace smiled innocently and put his hand over his chest in a dramatic fashion “Would you stand in the way of young love, Magnus? Would you separate two young lovers in the prime of their time?”

Alec rolled his eyes and fought the urge to get his brother into a headlock in front of Magnus “Easy there, Romeo. The guy doesn’t even know you exist”

“Now, I refuse to believe that. I am sure that my natural charms have ensnared him the moment I walked into the kitchen”. Jace was a comedian tonight, apparently.

“Uh huh”, Magnus said unconvincingly and Alec snorted in silent agreement. His boss turned to him and said “I’m done with cleanup, as is everyone else. I’ll be in my office when you’re done here, okay?”

It was only then that Alec noticed that the singing had gone down to humming as the last stragglers left the kitchen towards the locker room. He rued his brother’s antics and turned to Magnus apologetically and muttered “Sorry, checkup is my job. I shouldn’t have gotten sidetracked”

The Magnus from two weeks ago would have taken this opportunity and run with it. After all, Alec had just given him the perfect ammunition he’d been looking for. He had been caught slacking on the job, chatting with Jace, who wasn’t supposed to be there in the first place. He was certain that the man would have snarled and scolded to his heart’s content. The Magnus of now though, just shrugged and winked mischievously at Alec, the action so smooth and sexy that Alec felt another dangerous flutter make its way to his insides. He walked backward towards the office and answered casually “It’s no problem. I was done anyway. See you in a bit”

It took Alec an embarrassing amount of time to gather his wits enough to mumble a “Yeah, see you” at Magnus’ retreating back.

He was perpetually confused lately. Ever since the prosciutto mishap last week, he’d seen a different side of Magnus that had no clue what to with. In all his time at _Alicante_ , Alec had never thought of Magnus as playful. The man was always nice and amenable to his coworkers, cold and distant with Alec, but never playful. For the past week, Alec had had to come to terms with the fact that Magnus Bane was sassy and absolutely hilarious. He had this sarcastic way about him that had Alec speechless and uncertain for the first couple of days, before he’d learnt to pick up where Magnus left off and run with it.

“I’m guessing we’re getting along better than the last time I was around, huh?”, Jace asked with a tremor of laughter and Alec realized that he was still staring at the door where Magnus had disappeared like a total idiot.

He cleared his throat and busied himself with drying the counter, avoiding Jace’s searching gaze. “I guess”, he said noncommittedly. “He seems to be in a better mood since Mom and Luke left”

Jace hummed and poked him again “I bet that’s messing with your overanalyzing overthinking head. Is your circuit board heating up, brother?”

Alec rolled his eyes at the lame joke “Hardy har har”

Seeing that his section was as clean as it was going to get, he stopped trying to find a distraction and faced Jace “I guess I am a bit confused. I didn’t know why he was weird to me in the first place, and now he’s being nice and smiley and I don’t know what that’s about either”

“Here’s a suggestion, genius. Ask him!”, Jace volunteered with a careless shrug and Alec scoffed. As if. He couldn’t breathe at the thought of making himself that vulnerable to Magnus. Plus, he’d be damned if he showed to Magnus that his behavior had actually affected him in any way.

“Never mind, I’ll figure it out”, he mumbled and felt Jace amp up for a rebuttal when the reason he’d shown up in the first place walked out of the locker room, his bag slung over his shoulder as he walked towards the back door.

Simon looked over at them and waved in goodbye, his effervescent smile still firmly plastered on his face. Alec envied and despised the boisterous energy all at once. Jace clapped him on the shoulder and whispered “Talk later, I’ve got to run. Wish me luck”

Alec silently wished him luck not breaking the poor boy’s heart, for the sake of his sanity and Jace’s family jewels.

“Hey! Simon, right?”, Jace moved in, his head tilting to the left in his signature move and he said something to Simon, who blushed profusely and blinked at the man who’d sashayed up to him. Oh brother!

Alec left the two of them to their conversation and made to join Magnus in his office. He reached for the door handle but had to close his eyes slightly and steel himself. What he hadn’t mentioned to his brother, quite rightfully, was that Alec’s conflicted emotions about Magnus’ complete 180° didn’t just stem from not understanding his motives, but equally from how this new version of Magnus made him feel.

He didn’t understand why he was so affected by the way Magnus’ smile crinkled the corners of his eyes, how his husky laughter made warmth pool in Alec’s stomach in a way no barrel-aged whiskey could reproduce. He didn’t comprehend why the approval in Magnus’ eyes when Alec made a suggestion or made him try a dish left him feeling giddy for the whole day. Alec wasn’t starved for validation. He knew that he wasn’t. Yes, he’d wanted to prove himself to Magnus because he hated being unjustly judged, but he didn’t crave someone’s good opinion. Victor and his twisted games had cured Alec of that compulsion long ago. He knew that he was talented and had a lot to give, and yet, Magnus’ acknowledgment felt like a fizzy shot of ecstasy running through his veins.

By trial and error, and mostly error, he thought ruefully, Alec had come to recognize venomous behavior in people. After secretly dating and working under Victor Aldertree, Alec had become so fluent in “snake” that you could easily call him the heir to Slytherin and ask him to open the goddamn chamber of secrets. He now had a sensor for people who wielded their opinion and validation like a leash, tightening it and releasing it in sporadic bursts to keep you on the edge, always insecure and second guessing your worth. Magnus did not trigger any of his sensors. Despite his drastic behavioral inconsistency, Magnus had never struck Alec as mean just for the sake of it, which was why his good opinion felt so significant…Or at least, that was how Alec was justifying the happiness he felt with every sincerely uttered “Chef” he’d gotten over the past week.

The last of the kitchen crew left the locker room, still chattering amongst themselves as they raised a hand to Alec in goodbye, and he shook himself from his confusing thoughts and took a deep breath, knocking on the office door gently.

A soft “come in” greeted his knock and Alec’s heart thumped in his chest at the sound.

_Sigh._

* * *

A muffled curse made half the kitchen look up from their tasks as Magnus held his finger and muttered to himself. Alec saw the spurt of blood from his station and knew that Magnus must have cut himself, which was up to par with how the rest of the day had gone by. Magnus was…fidgety, for lack of a better word. It had been felt by everyone in the kitchen. Even Maia had looked at Alec at one point, her eyes wide as Magnus bit the head off one their prep cooks for dicing the peppers instead of julienning them. With the way Magnus had been stomping about, breathing fire at everyone who came close, it had been only a matter of time before something like this happened.

For the sake of their staff, Alec elected to take this moment to speak to his head chef about it. People were starting to get scared for their lives, or at the very least, their easily bruised egos. He wiped his hands on the kitchen towel hanging from his apron and moved towards Magnus, holding his hand without asking for permission and checking for the depth of damage.

The finger was still bleeding freely, but luckily, it didn’t look deep enough to warrant stitches.

“I’m fine”, Magnus muttered belligerently, and Alec ignored him completely, turning back to the crew who were still cautiously gawking at Magnus and said “Everyone, get back to work. Dinner service is in forty minutes. Maia, take over my prep. Juno, take over Magnus’. I’ll help him clean the wound and be back”

An unanimous “Yes, Chef” greeted his statement before Magnus had worked up the breath to argue;

“I said I’m fine. It’ll stop bleeding in a second, there’s no need…”, he started started.

“You’re not bleeding into the food so just give it up”, Alec cut him off, earning himself a disgruntled look.

He could always count on Magnus to put the kitchen first, because the fight seeped out of him and he dutifully followed Alec into the office. Alec closed the door and nodded at Magnus to take a seat on the couch and went to dig through the drawers for the first aid kit they kept well stocked.

“Last drawer on the left”, Magnus offered and Alec opened it to find what he was looking for.

He came to sit on the coffee table to make it easier to work and ignored the erratic beat of his heart as his knees bracketed Magnus’.

The man in question still had his head down, his hand toying with the makeshift bandage he’s fashioned out of a clean kitchen towel. He looked anxious and so off from the usually calm and collected man Alec had come to know.

“Do you want to tell me what’s got you so pre-occupied you almost cut through your finger?”, Alec asked hesitantly and if her were honest, with some trepidation. As much as his relationship with Magnus had improved over the past few weeks, he still didn’t know what the man was thinking half the time. For all he knew, Magnus could ask him to mind his damn business and he’d be right to.

Magnus went to rub his neck before he realized that his hands were occupied and frowned down at them, which shouldn’t have been as endearing as it was to Alec. He sighed and said “I’m about to ruin this restaurant’s reputation, that’s what”

Alec was taken off guard by the words and he widened his eyes as he opened the first aid kit and looked for cotton swaps and disinfectant. “I sincerely doubt you could do that, but okay, I’ll play along. Why do you think?”

Magnus looked up at him, his eyes silently gauging Alec. He’d become somewhat accustomed to Magnus staring at him. If it were anyone else, Alec would consider it a sign of flirtation, or at the very least, interest, but with Magnus, Alec was sure that the man was constantly puzzling him out. He’d had to bite his lip half a dozen times to stop from asking Magnus if he had deciphered something interesting in his seeming exploration.

“I have a friend who works at _The Clave_ ”, Magnus replied, naming one of the most popular newspapers in the country. Alec knew who Magnus was talking about. Ragnor Fell was a world-famous literary critic and despite being far removed from the field, even Alec enjoyed reading the journalist’s quick-witted reviews. They were dry, straight to the point and often hilarious in their bluntness.

He nodded at Magnus to continue, silently replacing the kitchen towel with a wipe that he used to mop up the dry blood.

“He called me this morning to let me know that we were getting another visit from Valentine Morgenstern in two weeks. Apparently, he’d come across the man’s schedule for the next month and felt it necessary to give me a heads up”, Magnus explained, flinching a little as Alec applied an alcohol-soaked cotton swap to his cut.

Alec whispered a quick “Sorry” as he blew on the cut to soothe the burn and watched as Magnus swallowed roughly. _He really must be anxious about this whole thing_.

“Okay, that’s good news, right? I mean, usually, we learn about food critics’ visits a day or two in advance. Two weeks is a great thing”

“That’s not the problem”, Magnus whispered, watching as Alec put a band-aid on his finger, deftly tucking the edges as to not hinder his movement.

“The problem is that the last time Morgenstern wrote about _Alicante_ was when he visited just two months ago. We haven’t changed the menu since, remember?”

“Oh shit”, Alec cursed, finally understanding where Magnus’ anxiety came from. Two months was too little time between visits, as critics usually waited for a menu change to drop by. It made sense, because why would someone want to write a column about the same dishes and recipes they’d already judged before, but even he was aware that Valentine Morgenstern did as he pleased, and that he had a personal deep-seated hatred for Luke. Some juvenile pettiness, from what he’d heard, that had transferred itself into scathing reviews and intentionally horrible opinions for all the country to see.

He could already see the article writing itself after Morgenstern tried the same dishes he had on his last visit “ _Trite, boring, lazy, unoriginal, zero creativity, recycling their recipes, yadda yadda yadda…_ ”. He would have a field day with their reputation, and it wouldn’t matter one bit that he’d been the one to choose the wrong time to review them.

“Luke is up for the James Beard award this year, Alec. Do you know how embarrassing it would be for the restaurant to get roasted by Valentine while the committee decide whether or not he is fit to receive such an honor? It’s going to forever be a strike against us”. Magnus was working himself up again and while Alec understood the reason for his worry, he instantly went into soothing mode as he looked at the wreck of a man in front of him.

“Hey now. Let’s not jump that far ahead, okay?”, he said, his hands fighting the instinctive urge to rub Magnus’ arms in comfort. _What was he thinking?_

“We still have two weeks. We can see how to tweak some of the recipes between now and then. I’ll talk to Luke tonight and see what we can come up with”

Magnus was already shaking his head. “Unless we overhaul the entire menu and start from scratch, that man is still going to rip us a new asshole”

“Then, let’s do that”. The words were out of Alec’s mind before he really thought of them, but the second they did, he couldn’t help but own them. His mind whirled as he considered the possibilities, and despite the seemingly hopeless situation, he could feel some excitement thrum through his veins. Two weeks was a tight deadline. A _very_ tight deadline, but it would also be a good challenge. Menu changes always were. They brought with them a new breath to the kitchen crew, who were generally tired of cooking the same meals six days a week.

Magnus looked at him like he’d grown two heads and a disbelieving chuckle came out of him “We can’t just create a new menu in two weeks, Alec. That’s madness”

“What? You don’t think you can do it?”, Alec asked tauntingly and Magnus narrowed his eyes “Do you really think that’s going to work on me. Do you think I’m a child?”

Alec snorted and said sheepishly “Worth a shot”, eliciting another laugh from Magnus.

“No, but for real, why not? Just think about it. We can compile a list of options and start testing them in the next few days. We’ll do the testing during prep time. We can hire a couple of temps for these two weeks to help out around the kitchen; It’ll work out”

Alec was already thinking of ways he’d always wanted to improve some classics, twists and unexpected ways he could bring a dish back to life, that it took him a few moments to realize that Magnus still hadn’t uttered a single word. No, Magnus was looking at him strangely, like he was trying to flay Alec open and look into his very soul. Alec realized that Magnus may have taken offense into him including himself on this journey and quickly backtracked.

“Um, I mean, I just assumed you’d need help to get a whole menu ready to go in two weeks. I know that you don’t necessarily trust my experience”

A rigorous head shake cut off whatever excuse Alec was thinking up, as Magnus insisted “It’s not that, at all. I am going to need your help if I take you up on this crazy idea, I just…”

He shook his head again, seeming lost for words before he asked Alec “We need to get this approved, first. We can’t just go balls to the wall”, and for some reason, Alec thought that those weren’t the words Magnus was going to say.

“I can text Izzy to stay after closing and discuss the logistics with her, and I’m pretty sure Luke wouldn’t mind any of this as long as we kept him somewhat in the loop. But just in case, I’ll give him a call tonight to confirm”

Magnus chuckled with very little humor and rubbed his tired eyes with his palms “Just like that?”

Alec felt his mirth and excitement come to screeching halt at those softly spoken words. He couldn’t help but feel like Magnus was mocking him. As if aware of his turmoil, Magnus lifted his head and took a look at Alec, his eyes widening as he stammered “I really didn’t mean it in a bad way. I just found it amusing that you rendered a problem that seemed huge in my head into small chunks. Really!”

Alec must have not seemed convinced because Magnus settled a warm hand on Alec’s knee, unaware of how the action made Alec’s breath stutter in his chest. “Seriously, Alec. I’m sorry if it sounded like a dig. I really didn’t mean it that way”

 _Why? What was the difference between now and all the digs you_ did _make?_ Those were the questions Alec had on the tip of his tongue but was too chickenshit to ask. Instead, he gave a decisive nod, taking Magnus’ words at face value and steered the subject back to the urgent matter at hand “But seriously, I think this would be a great opportunity. Valentine won’t know what hit him. I can just imagine the look on his face when he comes in and is handed a menu that looks nothing like what he expected”

Magnus smiled at him, clearly on board with that idea and as much as Alec wanted to bask in the glow of that smile for the next hour, they had dinner service in less than half an hour and he needed to put some distance between them before he did something stupid, like taste that smile for himself.

He clapped his hands in forced glee and whispered “This is going to be fun, you’ll see”

If he weren’t freaking out as he was, he would have seen the way Magnus’ gaze went heartbreakingly fond in that moment. If he weren’t so preoccupied with moving away from their positions, he would have seen the moment Magnus gave up whatever fight he had inside and decided to exert a little force on the hand on Alec’s knee, bringing him infinitesimally closer. If he were paying attention to anything besides the beat of his heart, he would have seen Magnus lift his other hand to grab at Alec’s chef coat and tug him closer. All Alec knew was that one second, his head was running a mile a minute, and the next, everything was blissfully quiet as the softest lips he’d ever felt touched his own in a small peck, remaining there as if to gauge for Alec’s interest. In those seconds before his brain kicked into gear to understand that Magnus was kissing him, _Magnus was kissing him,_ MAGNUS WAS KISSING HIM, Alec froze like a deer in headlights, then those warm lips registered and his entire being filled with an unnamed feeling, his joints unwinding as he finally reciprocated.

Magnus let out a soft noise of approval and his hand snaked around to the small of Alec’s back, bringing him closer to the edge of the coffee table, as the their lips met in one peck, two, three, four, before Magnus made another noise and gently tugged Alec’s lower lip into his mouth, causing Alec’s pulse to skyrocket. He felt like a live wire, his nerves bare and exposed as he tried to sate a need inside that he hadn’t fully realized was there. Magnus’ tongue prodded gently at the seam of his lips, seeking entry and with a groan of pure masculine satisfaction, Alec granted it, tangling his own tongue wetly. The kiss went from chaste and exploratory to hungry in seconds, as Alec tasted the cavern of Magnus’ mouth, his own hands skimming over the man’s arms and climbing up his shoulders, registering the firmness of muscle. He was solid everywhere. As their lips sipped at one another, Magnus’ hand skimmed up and down Alec’s spine, sending shivers through his being, before it reached the nape of his neck, tugging him more firmly against Magnus, and tangling into his hair.

The sensation was so pleasurable that Alec let out a quiet noise and Magnus chuckled against his lips, murmuring hotly “Your hair is even softer than I imagined”, before diving back into another kiss like a starved man.

Alec couldn’t help but think of the way Victor had always considered Alec’s messy fluffy hair a sign of youth that worked against him. In his opinion, Alec should have trimmed his locks to a buzz or at least attempted to tame the wild mess. And with that sobering thought, Alec just…stopped.

_He couldn’t do this._

Whatever this was, he just couldn’t do it. He couldn’t get tangled up with another coworker. He couldn’t bleed his personal life into his work place again. It had nearly destroyed his career last time and while he knew, on a conscious level, that Magnus was not Victor and that he should stop letting that experience color the way he processed most things, he just wasn’t ready to explore anything like this. Maybe he never would be.

Magnus, rightly taking stock of the way Alec’s entire body had gone stiff in his arms, slowed down and called his name hesitantly, his face still close enough for Alec to feel his breath.

“What happened?”, he whispered softly.

What happened was that Alec had gotten carried away, and he couldn’t allow that to happen, not with anyone, but especially not with Magnus, who made Alec go through the riot of emotions that had ever existed on the spectrum. Not with Magnus who had barely started acknowledging him as a worthy asset in the kitchen.

Feeling a keen loss in the pit of his stomach that he couldn’t explain, Alec fully withdrew from the embrace, scooting back and rising from his seat “I can’t do this, Magnus. I’m sorry, I just…”

Magnus’ face froze as if he too was waking up from the fog of their heady chemistry and he rubbed his hands over his face and then dropped them, his brows notched in worry as he cleared his throat and catalogued Alec’s face with a searching gaze “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I’m sorry if I overstepped”

Alec shook his head to stop the flow of words. Magnus hadn’t done anything wrong. It wasn’t like he’d read Alec and his goddamn bothersome attraction wrong. Even now, looking at him, Alec had to stop himself from focusing on Magnus’ shiny swollen lips. _Damn it._

“No, you didn’t…You did nothing wrong. I just, I can’t do this again. I-“, he clamped his mouth shut as he realized what he’d just blurted. He hadn’t meant to say “Again”. _Shit._

Magnus’ eyes flashed with something that Alec didn’t understand and he wet his lips and lowered his head slightly. A moment passed before he raised clearer eyes to Alec and nodded once in acquiescence, his hands going to the pockets of his pants as he assumed a casual stance that looked a bit forced.

Alec’s heart squeezed in remorse and he had nothing else to offer Magnus in that moment. No explanation. No justification for his refusal. Knowing that he was just making the situation more awkward by lingering, he simply whispered “I’ll head back in first” and made for the door, aware that despite his silence, Magnus’ eyes were glowing with a strange intensity that he couldn’t begin to decipher.

* * *

Later that evening, Isabelle looked between her brother and her temporary head chef and fought the urge to frown. Despite the fact that Alec prided himself on being private and discreet, he was by nature the kind of person who wore their heart on their sleeve. Or at least, that was how it had always felt for her. Her big brother was a soft marshmallow and every soul that passed him by managed to leave some kind of imprint. She had always noticed that Alec kept his distance from Magnus, in whatever setting they occupied. Magnus in turn, had been civil, but clearly not keen on her brother, which had irritated her at first, before she realized that any sort of interference would cost her Alec’s ire. He had issues with people fighting his battles, and knowing how his last job had gone to shit, she wanted him to feel like he could stand on his own.

Clary often liked to remind her that she wasn’t Wonder Woman, and that try as she might, she couldn’t protect her loved ones from any little mishap that may occur in their lives. Fortunately thought, what she could do however, was get them drunk enough not to think of such mishaps. She turned to her girlfriend who stood behind the bar, making drinks for the four of them and whispered from the side of her mouth “Make their drinks double”

“You’re telling me!”, Clary whispered back, clearly feeling the weird tension between the two men seated next to each other.

They were seated in the dining room at _Alicante_. Dinner service was long done and the kitchen had closed down completely, the last of the crew already on their way home. Isabelle herself rarely stayed this late. The restaurant was a well-oiled machine that ran itself most nights. Her job entailed any big changes or updates that had little to do with the day-to-day operations, but she still stuck around to make sure all went well during their working hours. At least Clary was happy to have company around as she tended their in-house bar. As their resident mixologist, she kept Isabelle at a state of delicious buzz.

“Okay, so what are we here for, gentlemen? I have a pillow with my name on it at home and I would like to get to it”, Isabelle asked as she and Clary settled across from Alec and Magnus, everyone clutching a cold drink that would do them well after an exhausting night. Isabelle noted with a little worry that her brother was clutching his glass of scotch a little extra tight. _Huh._

The two didn’t as much as glance at each other before Alec delved into the story of their upcoming restaurant review and the idea that he and Magnus had come up with. Magnus added details where he could and once Isabelle had the full picture, she couldn’t help but agree with their assessment.

“I wouldn’t dare to tell you how to do your jobs, but I am aware that in the past, it took Luke around a month to finish a full menu, and that was with the theme and the concept already picked out. Are you sure that two weeks would be enough time?”, she couldn’t help but wonder and Magnus nodded his head, seeming to understand where she was coming from.

“You’re right. It’s not going to be easy, but I’m sure that we’re up to the challenge. Right, Alexander?”

From the wide-eyed look her brother shot his boss, Isabelle gathered that it was the first time Magnus had called Alec by his full name, which couldn’t help but pique her curiosity. The furtive glance Clary shot her told her they were on the same page.

Alec opened his mouth and closed it a few times before clearing his throat and nodding “Yes, I…Um…I’m sure we can work on it. It’s going to take a few days to brainstorm a theme and a menu, but once that’s settled, we’ll start testing during prep time; which reminds me that we might need to hire a couple of temps, Izzy. It’ll free up our time to focus on the new menu”

Isabelle did some math and nodded in agreement “That shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll call around, see if any of my acquaintances can recommend a couple of good chefs. It’s too short notice to bother with an announcement”

Clary swirled whatever pink concoction was in her glass -she liked to surprise herself- and asked absently “I’m guessing you guys will need some new drinks to go with the menu”

“Yeah, definitely. Once we have the concept locked down, we’ll let you and Ryan know so you can come up with a few drink and dessert options”, Alec agreed and Clary nodded, her brain already churning with ideas, no doubt.

Magnus let out a cough and started in a cautious voice “I don’t think finding a concept is going to prove too difficult. I already have an idea about what we’ll go with”

From the frown on Alec’s face, this was the first time he was hearing of this too, but Magnus looked at him directly, his eyes seeming to convey something that made Isabelle extremely intrigued as he said “Fusion cuisine”

“What?”, Alec blurted, before realizing that he’d nearly shouted the words. His cheeks darkened as he looked down at his glass and Isabelle had to stifle a smile at the sight. She rarely got to see her brother so visibly flustered.

Clary exclaimed; her exuberance evident “Fusion? That opens a lot of colorful possibilities. Do you have any specific cuisines in mind or are you still figuring that out?”

Magnus shrugged, looking more excited as he smiled at her “We’re an Americana restaurant at heart. Whatever cultures we try to incorporate will eventually have to help improve on classic Americana dishes. What was it that you called it the other day, Alexander? Bringing a new life to a classic simple comfort?”

Alec was still looking at his glass, but at those words, looked up at Magnus; He seemed to be figuring something out and Magnus waited him out, simply looking back with that enigmatic smile still in place. Isabelle felt like she and Clary were just intruding at this point. These two were having a private conversation that she was dying to figure out. _Her little sister nosiness demanded it, dammit!_

Alec seemed to have reached some kind of conclusion because he turned to Clary and said “Yeah that’s exactly it. The most obvious choices to go with would be inserting notes of Middle Eastern, East and South Asian cuisines; maybe even North African. We’ll let you know what we settle on once a rough draft of the menu is underway, but that’s the general idea”

“I like it”, Clary nodded as she typed down notes on her phone. Isabelle hadn’t even seen her fish it out. She already knew that she wasn’t going to get any sleep tonight. An excited Clary was harder to manage than a puppy at a ball park. She recognized that gleam that was shining in her girlfriend’s eyes really well.

She turned her head just in time to see Magnus settle back into his chair with a determined look on his face, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked at Alec. He looked like a man on a mission, and despite Isabelle’s misgivings about their relationship in the past, this new tension that was currently permeating the room around them didn’t feel antagonistic. No, this tension felt a lot like foreplay, which was all kinds of wrong to think about because this was her brother she was talking about, but Isabelle wasn’t dumb. There was something cooking between Alec and Magnus. She just hoped it didn’t explode in their faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Leave a comment and let me know how you're liking the story so far. I'll be back soon with another chapter <3


	3. Chapter 3

Alec was stalling. He knew that he was. The cans of tomato weren’t really crooked enough to require fifteen minutes of aligning on the shelf, and the bags of flour were fine on that spot on the lower shelf just as they had been on the spot twenty inches to the right. He was basically giving free rein to his obsessive tendencies in a bid to ignore the elephant in the room, or more aptly, the man in the office waiting for him. In all his time at _Alicante_ , he had never spent more than half an hour on inventory, and yet today, he was approaching an hour territory and he couldn’t find the will to feel bad about it.

In the past three days since “the incident”, as Alec had started referring to it, he’d made sure that the time he spent alone in Magnus’ presence was minimal. He had quickly come up with the plan to draft separate versions of the new menu and benchmark them later, buying himself some leeway to avoid one-on-one conversations. Try as he might however, his time was dwindling to an end. Their deadline was too tight and today was they day they needed to choose a version in order to start testing the recipes.

The inventory tactic was only going to last so long, and eventually, he would have to join Magnus in the office, that enclosed room where his eyes had limited space to avoid Magnus’, where the memory of “the incident” loomed large, the soft echo of moans and primal sounds seeming to linger in the air every time he so much as glanced at that cursed couch.

Alec wasn’t afraid of a repeat performance. No, no, no, Alec was afraid that the minute the subject was brought up, he would, quite possibly, explode. Ever since that night, Alec had boomeranged between so many emotions and feelings. First had been the surprise and disbelief, then had come the confusion, and finally, his feelings seemed to have settled on anger. Pure fiery anger that coursed through his veins like a warm blanket. Because how dare Magnus Bane kiss him the way he did after treating him the way he had for ten months? How dare he play with Alec’s emotions and confuse him with sweet words and indulgent smiles? It didn’t make a lick of sense, for the man who had made Alec feel two feet tall to suddenly act like he was attracted to him, like he wanted him. And it made Alec just so damn angry that no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t make sense of the jumble of it all.

It was like Magnus’ kiss had scrambled his brain and rendered him incapable of coherent thought process. If it weren’t for the routine of his work and the physical nature of it, Alec was certain that he would have been walking around like a blithering idiot.

The icing on the metaphorical cake disaster that was his life recently had been the phone call Alec had had with Luke early this morning. They had already agreed on the menu decision, with Luke’s full blessing. His stepfather had even sounded as excited as Alec had felt about the project, ensuring them that between the two of them, he had faith that something amazing would emerge.

They’d hung up and gone their ways with plans to work on their menu versions and he had been feeling reassured in the certainty that he would only have to work around Magnus and “the incident” for two more weeks…Until Luke had excitedly rang him up to let him know that he and Maryse were extending their honeymoon for another two weeks. Apparently, Europe in the Fall was to _die for_ and they needed more time to absorb the blissful serenity of all that history and culture and Alec… Well, Alec had spent the entire call fighting the urge to bang his head against the wall! He needed a buffer to stop him from doing something exceedingly stupid, like calling Magnus out to his stupid handsome face or worse, kissing it again.

Which brought him back to the inventory and he rolled his eyes at his own antics as he moved a can of lighter fluid one inch to the right.

“I’m pretty sure it was fine where it was”, a voice said from the doorway to the pantry and Alec jumped slightly, turning to look at Magnus who was leaning against the doorway like some dashing fairytale prince, a knowing smirk stretched across his face.

Alec grumbled under his breath and turned to face Magnus like he was a firing squad “I was almost done. You didn’t have to come fetch me like a toddler”

Magnus’ expression didn’t change, save for an eyebrow that arched in amusement “I see that you are still mad. This doesn’t bode well for our menu venture, don’t you think?”

Any hope that Alec had been subtle in his avoidance flew out the window at those words. Surprisingly, that did nothing but cause him further frustration. Why wasn’t Magnus phased by any of this? Looking at him comfortable, loose limbed and smiling against the door, the man looked like he was having a blast. More than that, he looked like he was humoring Alec. Like Alec was a child throwing a temper tantrum and Magnus was just going with it, riding out the wave until all went back to normal. That bitter thought was probably what prompted his next words.

“I don’t know, Magnus. You spent ten months being mad and somehow the kitchen was still standing. I don’t think we need to move on just because you did”

Alec wanted to choke on the bitterness he could feel in his own tone. His ego chafed as he realized that he was letting Magnus see a hurt that ate away at him for so long. After Victor and the way the staff at _The Institute_ had made him feel, he had promised himself that he would never show anyone that they got to him, and there he was, flaying himself wide open for Magnus, basically delivering a loaded gun into his hand and trusting him not to pull the trigger.

Magnus’ smirk fell instantly and Alec braced himself for his reaction, but the man refused to drop eye contact as he swallowed and straightened from his perch.

“You’re right”, he said simply, causing Alec’s jaw to clamp shut against his anticipated rebuttal.

He waited for the “but” statement, but Magnus just looked at him straight on and continued “You’re absolutely right and I have no justification for my past behavior. Just know that I am so incredibly sorry for it”

“I’m sorry for being the most unmitigated ass”, Magnus said as he stepped further into the pantry, his silhouette dimming the light coming from the kitchen.

“I’m sorry for being a complete tool since you came into this kitchen. I’m sorry for acting like you were less than, for not knowing your worth. It’s a mistake I will atone for even if it kills me”

He took another step “You don’t have to forgive me. Hell, I don’t expect you to. You have every right to be mad at me for as long as you need to be, but that’s not going to stop me from trying to win your graces”

“Why?”, Alec croaked, feeling his heart beat erratically. “Why would you do any of that? What changed?”

Magnus smiled sadly and shrugged his shoulders “I came to see the error of my ways. It took too long and my shame for that is immeasurable, but I am more than the dickhead who made your life harder. I hope that you are more generous than I have been, and allow me the grace of proving that to you”

Alec couldn’t comprehend the words coming out of his coworker’s mouth. He felt like he had entered an alternate dimension where people were brave enough to lay their heart out on the line the way Magnus was doing. He wasn’t blushing, wasn’t shifting around in embarrassment. He looked at Alec head on like he was drilling the words into him, like he was important.

Alec must have stayed silent for too long because Magnus smiled and tilted his head to the side “Did I scare you away, Alexander?”

“Don’t call me that”, Alec blurted instantly. Magnus didn’t need to know that hearing his full name in that lyrical voice made his stomach twist into a thousand knots. If he ever wanted to get over “the incident”, the butterflies swirling around in his tummy didn’t bode well.

“Isn’t it your name?”, Magnus asked, sounding like he was fighting a laugh.

“Just call me Alec like everyone else”

“What if I don’t want to be like everyone else?”, Magnus said softly, still advancing on Alec like a tiger stretching its limbs.

Alec’s throat was parched, as evidenced by the three times he had to clear it before any word could leave his mouth “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that I was looking to get you to forgive me, maybe reach a stage where we can act like colleagues. At best, friends. But then I kissed you”.

Alec swallowed a sound that threatened to betray him. He couldn’t believe that Magnus had just casually mentioned it. He’d thought for sure that Magnus would want to forget the whole thing as much as he did.

He didn’t realize that he’d been backing up as Magnus advanced on him until he felt the shelf digging into his back and knew that there was no way for him to escape this conversation.

By the smile painted on Magnus’ face, he was equally as aware of the fact. He slowly walked up to Alec’s face until there was nothing but a few inches of space between the two of them. If Alec so much as breathed too hard, his chest would touch Magnus’. He could count his eyelashes, feel the breath on his lips, and watch in high resolution as Magnus licked his lips and casually settled his hands on the shelf on either side of Alec, effectively bracketing him in.

Alec could feel his heartbeat in his eardrums, the sound so loud and distracting. He hated that in spite of his insistence on forgetting all about that kiss and the feelings that accompanied it, he was still gripped by the tendrils of giddy excitement at being in such close proximity to Magnus.

Magnus seemed unaware of Alec’s turmoil, his head turning to look off into the distance as he spoke softly “You know when you’re experimenting with spices and flavors and you keep changing ratios and quantities and all of a sudden, you create the perfect taste? That feeling of utter rightness when your senses are singing in joy at how perfect it all feels?”

He turned his head and looked Alec right in the eyes as he declared “I never thought I would find that outside of the kitchen”

Alec’s breath hitched and he had to grip the lower shelf behind him to keep from gathering Magnus into his arms and picking up where they left off two days ago. His anger had morphed into breathless anticipation that warred with hesitant dread, because he couldn’t see any path where he let himself fall into this and he needed to make Magnus understand that.

“Magnus, I can’t do this”, he whispered, hating how halted and weak his voice sounded, the longing in it barely concealed.

“So, you’ve said”, Magnus agreed, nodding his head slightly and lifted his hand from the shelf to gently caress Alec’s hair and move it from where it was hanging off his forehead, leaving a searing trace of heat in his wake and almost sending Alec into cardiac arrest.

When he spoke again, Magnus’ voice had lowered a few more decibels, sounding hoarse “I’m sure that you have valid reasons why you decided that, and I’m sorry that you were hurt before by someone who didn’t deserve you”

Alec bit his lip to keep from denying it. He knew he’d made a mistake by blurting those words that day in the office.

“But I also know that you feel this between us, whatever you want to name it”, Magnus continued and Alec felt himself get lost in the flecks of his eyes, the warm chocolate brown rimmed in hypnotizing black. Magnus’ hand carried on its journey, skimming over his cheek as his thumb caressed Alec’s skin gently. Alec couldn’t help but lean a bit into it. Magnus smiled.

“I know you feel what I feel, Alec, and I understand that you may be jaded and hesitant, but that’s not going to stop me from trying, because by God, you’re worth it. You’re worth the wait. Unless you can tell me that you don’t want me to”. Magnus straightened from his position, stepping back abruptly and leaving Alec floundering in a haze for a few moments “Do you want me to stop, Alexander?”

It should have been easy to say yes. It should have been a no brainer. Magnus posed the biggest threat to Alec’s sanity that he could possibly conceive. If Victor had hurt him, Magnus would decimate him and Alec knew it. No man should have the power to wreak as much havoc on another’s constitution the way Magnus did to him, and yet, he couldn’t spell out the word. He couldn’t just close the door on the possibility because Magnus was also right. Alec did feel the way that kiss had slotted itself into his world like an answer for a question he didn’t know he had. It was that utter rightness that had driven him to run and avoid Magnus like the plague. And so, he kept quiet, not knowing whether he was making the right call or setting himself up for more pain in the long run.

Magnus’ resulting smile at his silence caused Alec’s heart to jump in his chest, and the man he’d known as nothing but a grump for the past year looked the happiest that Alec had ever seen him, dark eyes glittering, smile wide. He nodded in understanding and to Alec’s confusion, stepped further back and walked towards the door.

“Alright, we should finalize the menu items if we want to start testing tomorrow, so leave the lighter fluid alone and come on”

Alec didn’t know what he was expecting after that heartfelt declaration but it certainly wasn’t to go back to business as usual. He had expected a kiss, frankly looked forward to it but was left standing against the shelf like a Victorian maiden.

_He should probably see someone about this split personality thing where he wanted to jump away from Magnus and jump him between one second and the next._

Magnus must have felt the palpable confusion because he turned in the doorway and smiled at Alec, before noticing his confounded expression. His eyes darkened considerably and he said “Stop looking at me like that. People are going to start showing up for work in a minute and I like to take my time”

Alec could feel the words burn through him and fought the urge to fidget under the magnetic gaze. He just cleared his throat and straightened his stance, looking around for the clipboard with his inventory list on it that had somehow slipped to the floor in all the excitement. He lifted the list and dusted it off, looking up at Magnus and trying to act natural. Despite him not closing the door to them exploring whatever attraction they felt, he had to establish some ground rules and the first one was maintaining some modicum of professionalism. They had less than two weeks to come up with a menu worthy of their restaurant and he needed to focus.

If he spent a little time admiring Magnus’ tight ass as he walked ahead of him, then that was for him alone to know.

* * *

“You have got to stop showing up like this”, Alec exclaimed as his brother weaseled his way into the kitchen through the dining area, followed by Clary and Isabelle who were jabbering amongst themselves as Clary rubbed Izzy’s arm in comfort and Isabelle used her hands to gesture wildly.

Alec just stopped to watch until the three of them stood in front of him, their sheepish smiles telling him they knew they shouldn’t be there “Are you guys serious?”

“I work here”, Isabelle argued.

“So do I”, Clary volunteered and Alec could tell that she was excited to be taking a ride on the wild side and coming into the kitchen uninvited. He fought the urge to laugh at her exuberance. How his troublemaker sister found herself such a good girl, he would never know.

Jace just shrugged and looked around wildly “I thought you wouldn’t throw me out if I brought them along”

“That was a dumb thought”, Alec said evenly and Jace stopped imitating a night owl enough to roll his eyes at his brother.

Watching him swivel his head around was just pathetic at this point “Simon is in the locker room. Don’t give yourself neck pain”

Alec had casually asked Jace how his date with Simon had gone and had received nothing but a grumbled “fine” that didn’t help reassure Alec at all. He’d tried to dig briefly before giving up and had gotten no definitive answer. It wasn’t until he and the entire kitchen crew had noticed the morose nature to Simon’s clean-up song choices that Alec had cornered his brother for a clarification.

Apparently, all Jace knew was that by the time he’d been done with his performance, he’d walked out to find an empty seat and no Simon. The man then proceeded to ignore Jace’s phone calls and messages and had imperiously ghosted him. Never mind the fact that it was unheard of for anyone to resist Jace’s charms this hard, it was just plain weird for the kind Simon to do that after agreeing to the date in the first place. Jace had also explained that their dinner before the show had gone splendidly, Jace bringing Simon out of his shell with his jokes and over the top impressions. According to his clearly miserable brother, there should have been no reason why Simon would behave as he had.

From the way his brother was looking around, nearly vibrating in place, he was still not over whatever had happened.

Isabelle huffed and said “Nothing good is going to come of this. I told you before. I wish you would let it go, Jace”

From the way Jace’s face went taut and he gritted his teeth, Alec could tell that they’d been in the midst of this conversation for a while. He would be inclined to agree with Isabelle, but he did live with Jace and had seen how saddened he was by the whole ordeal, so he was keeping any feeling of wariness strictly to himself. Even Clary, who was Simon’s best friend, seemed to want Jace to give it another try, and maybe she knew something they didn’t.

Looking around to see if Magnus would be around to give them the third degree, he clapped his brother on the shoulder and motioned to the back of the kitchen, where the locker room was.

“Go get him, champ. He should be leaving any minute”

Jace looked at him gratefully and nodded, already walking that way.

Isabelle opened her mouth, probably to disagree and Alec and Clary both made staying gestures that had her pouting to herself.

“Let him be, Izzy. I know you feel protective of Simon, but he’s the one who left him alone on their date. Jace deserves at least an explanation”

“Alec is right, Iz”, Clary agreed, twining her fingers through Isabelle’s like they would leash her to her spot. “They’re both grown men and they can figure it out amongst themselves”

Isabelle turned an inquisitive brow on her girlfriend “That’s your best friend we’re talking about”

“And as his best friend, even I know he fucked up”

Hearing Clary swear never failed to amuse Alec. She always blushed right after she cursed and it always left him wandering why she did it in the first place.

“He should have stayed there and talked to Jace about his insecurities instead of fleeing like a baby. He knows he was wrong too; he’s just embarrassed at this point. Maybe Jace showing up right in front of him will snap him out of it”, she continued and Isabelle pounced on the words.

“What insecurities? Do you know what happened?”

Clary just looked at her in amusement and wrinkled her nose “Sorry, bro code”

“Bro code, shmo code”, Izzy muttered dejectedly and Alec couldn’t help but laugh.

“Come on, you worry wart. Let’s get you home. Your brother is a good guy”. Clary raised her hand to stop whatever Isabelle was about to say. “What he did while single and unattached doesn’t make him a player or a bad person. As entertaining as his crazy hook ups were, he’s right. He never lied to anyone. Let him make his own mistakes. You never know. Maybe they’re meant to be and this is exactly what Jace needs”

Alec could feel the words seep through him, filling in cracks and reassuring him…Not about Jace really. He knew his brother was serious about exploring his new found feelings, but more about himself. Clary was right. Why should the past dictate how Alec chose to live his life now? Why should it stop him from delving into something that may bring him happiness?

It wasn’t a thought process he was used to entertaining. After all, Alec had gotten the shitty end of the stick the first time he’d tried to _explore_ his feelings, but then again, did the fact that he’d made a bad decision once set that hard of a precedent? Did it mean that he would have to spend the rest of his days doubting any feelings or attraction he felt? He was certain that he’d wised up since he’d walked out of Victor’s life. His skin was thicker, his heart more capable of telling good from bad, or at least, he liked to think so.

It would be all too easy. All he would have to do was give in. After all, Magnus was trying his best to slowly drive him to the edge of sanity with his antics. Ever since their talk in the pantry, Magnus had launched a full-on attack on Alec’s senses. These days, Alec walked around as an aimless ball of yearning and it was so very difficult not to give in.

If Alec had thought Magnus to be funny and charming before, he hadn’t known the half of it. Between the casual touches that managed to frustrate and incinerate Alec all at once, the sheer presence Magnus exuded in the kitchen and the way he managed to turn Alec’s brain to mush as he led their restaurant like he’d been born to do it, Alec was so close to breaking.

But it was the time they got to work on the menu that was Alec’s favorite time of the day; He had always relished creating new recipes, giving free rein to his imagination and seeing where it led him, but he had never realized how much more exciting it would be to go on that journey with a partner. Alec and Magnus worked together like they’d been born to do it. It was eerie how in sync their ideas were. Once they had decided on a first version of their menu, it had become a game of sorts to ping ideas on how each dish could be crafted and polished to perfection before they spent hours trying them out. Magnus was a magnificent cook. Patient, cool-headed and just adventurous enough to take a recipe where it needed to go. He could tell that Magnus was quickly becoming as impressed with him, because the man never failed to tell him.

He was just so direct in his approach to courtship that it took Alec aback. In these modern times of social media and dating apps and the ten thousand unwritten rules everyone should abide by, it was extremely rare to find someone who just spoke what they felt instead of concealing it and acting coy. Magnus had the ability to throw Alec off kilter with a well-aimed compliment just because he felt like it.

Just the day before, for instance, Alec had spent ten minutes yammering at Magnus about how their Tzatziki sauce wasn’t as sharp and tangy as he’d wanted it to be and how it wouldn’t compliment the kofta-style meatballs they were working on and Magnus had just blurted out, unprompted “Your eyes are so beautiful”, effectively inhibiting Alec’s upper brain function for a solid minute.

He’d stared at the man, his jaw hanging in the wind before asking him if he planned to just say whatever he was thinking like that at any given moment. Magnus, bless his heart, had just shrugged and smiled that infuriatingly enigmatic smile of his.

“All is fair in love and war, right?”, he’d ominously declared, sending Alec’s poor mangled heart into overdrive, then told him that they should make the Tzatziki with radish instead of cucumber.

Alec had taken that to mean a definitive “yes” and went on to make the Tzatziki with radish. It was perfect. Of course, it was!

Alec had to admit that there was a certain exhilaration to being pursued so directly. As much as he would like to deny it, Magnus’ attention felt like the most addictive opium, his skin forever tingling with awareness. It was a heady feeling, being Magnus Bane’s object of affection and Alec had to fight the innate urge to bask in it and revel in his good fortune.

“Are we still on?”

Alec focused back on the conversation around him and found his sister looking at him with an expectant expression. _Shit_. He smiled apologetically and said “Sorry, what was that?”

Isabelle rolled her eyes and repeated herself “I asked if we were still going to the orchard on Monday. I know that you have a tight deadline to work on and skipping a day is probably a big deal, but it’s the only opening they had this month and it’s perfect given that it’s your birthday”

Alec looked around to make sure no one was around and shushed his sister. He hated making a big deal about his birthday and knew that if the kitchen staff caught wind of this, they would want to have a party or something equally as terrifying for his anti-crowd personality. He’d seen how Jenna’s birthday party had gone just last month. They’d asked the poor woman to make a speech. _Shudder_.

“Yeah, I can swing it. We’re ahead of schedule with testing so I can afford the day off. I’ll talk to Magnus about it before Monday though, just to be sure”

“Okay cool”, Izzy nodded, her eyes twinkling in joy, “I can’t wait to go up there. I miss fresh air. Plus, apple butter”

“Apple butter is always a good idea”, Clary agreed, looking just as excited.

Alec thought about the mango chutney he was considering for the prawn appetizers on the menu and made a mental note to test out apple butter instead.

The three of them agreed on when Alec would pick them up on Monday and turned to see Jace and Simon smiling hesitantly at each other.

Well, it looked like the lovebirds were giving it another try. They waited until Jace walked up to them with Simon in tow, hands clasped like he wanted to make sure the guy wouldn’t run away from him again.

“You guys go ahead. Simon and I are going to grab a drink at The Hunter’s Moon first”, Jace announced and Simon ducked his head, his cheeks flush with what Alec hoped was excitement.

“You sure you don’t want us to tag along?”, Isabelle started before Clary muffled her mouth with the palm of her hand and smiled brightly at the pair “Never mind. Enjoy your evening”

Jace leaned forward and kissed her cheek, before winking at her in camaraderie “I knew you were my favorite sister-in-law for a reason”

“Your brother is gayer than a maypole. I’m the only sister-in-law you’re getting”, Clary rebutted, patting his cheek like an indulgent grandma.

Alec really didn’t know why he had to be saddled with a crazy family but he loved them all the same.

Jace turned to his sister who was still pouting and flicked her forehead “If you bombard my phone with messages and calls tomorrow, Isabelle, I’m writing you out of my will”

“If you fuck this up, I’ll break your precious fingers and you won’t have any money to leave me anyway”, she promised with a sweet smile and narrowed eyes.

“I don’t know if it’s a single child thing, but the amount of body mutilation threats y’all give each other is alarming to me”, Magnus chimed in as he walked up to the growing party.

“It’s not a threat, it’s a promise”, Isabelle answered and gave Jace an intense look, basically beaming the words into his brain.

“ _Okay_ ”, Magnus muttered, looking at Alec and widening his eyes comically. Alec just smiled at him and wished his siblings would disappear before Magnus said something that would make his family members launch an inquisition later.

“Alright, we’re out of here. Simon, say goodbye to these people and please don’t hold my sister against me. I promise I’m saner than she is”

“Simon knows me, dumbass”

“That’s why I’m inclined to agree”, Simon piped up in a sarcastic voice and the group just gaped for a few seconds before bursting into fits of laughter.

Isabelle herself was laughing as she tried to give the quiet guy a half-hearted glare and wheezed out “ _Et tu_ , Simon?”

Simon just shrugged and gave her a small smile that let Alec that it was all in good jest.

Jace took advantage of the moment to herd his date away from them, throwing a quick goodbye over his shoulder.

“Bye guys”, Simon echoed, smiling at Clary’s gesture of good luck.

The moment they disappeared through the kitchen door, Alec grabbed his sister and turned her around, basically pushing her towards the dining room with an amused Clary in tow.

“Why do you want to get rid of me? I wanted to ask about the menu”

“We’re working on it. When we have a final version, you’ll be the first to know”, Alec assured her.

“But-“, she started.

“No buts. Go home, Isabelle. Channel your endless energy on pampering your girlfriend. Maybe run her a bath, give her a massage, and don’t call Jace or text him”

“Oh, I could do with a massage. My neck is a bit stiff from carrying the liquor crates from the cellar”, Clary agreed, rolling her shoulders to relieve the tension, and Isabelle snorted and gave her girlfriend a look that Alec was, _regrettably_ , familiar with.

“Are you sure it’s not from last night’s-“

“Nope. No. Stop. We’re not doing this, Izzy. Boundaries! We need to have boundaries and the first one is no sex talk in front of me! We’ve been through this”, Alec whined. He had been traumatized by his sister’s lack of filter on one too many occasions.

“Oh, get that stick out of your ass. Or coincidentally, get a stick _up_ -“

“Goodnight, Isabelle”, he shouted over the lewd statement and closed the dining room door behind him, listening to Clary giggle on the other side.

He turned to find Magnus leaning – _again with the leaning_ \- against the office door with an amused expression on his face. Alec huffed and pointed at him menacingly “Whatever you want to say, don’t”

Magnus gave in and chuckled, holding his hands up in surrender “Wouldn’t dream of it. Your family is funny”

“My family is crazy”, Alec rectified and Magnus nodded “Which makes them very entertaining”

“I’m glad one of us is amused”, he grumbled and motioned to the office.

Magnus grinned and went in ahead of him before asking casually “Are those the kind of things you like?”

He must’ve seen the “What are you talking about?” expression on Alec’s face because he continued in a suggestive undertone “The pampering. Baths and back rubs?”

Alec nearly swallowed his own tongue and was taken over by a coughing fit as he imagined what it would feel like to have Magnus’ hands on him that way. He couldn’t even let himself entertain the bath option because he was pretty sure it would kill him, so he just tried to gather himself up and tried for an unaffected tone that was belied by the flush he could feel climbing up his neck.

“I mean, I guess. Doesn’t everyone?”, he said and straightened his sleeve like it wasn’t midnight and his chef’s jacket weren’t already wrinkled to high heaven.

Magnus just hummed and whispered under his breath “Duly noted, Alexander”, and Alec felt the butterflies take flight once more.

_Sigh._

* * *

“Are you avoiding me?”

Alec stopped buttoning up his jacket and turned to find Maia standing in the doorway to the locker room, her hands on her hips and a fearsome expression on her face. She would have been very much intimidating, if she weren’t half his size and currently wearing a pink bandana with a tiny fluffy sheep print on it.

Who was he kidding? Even with the guileless lambs, she was still somewhat intimidating. It was too early in the day to get turned over hot coals by his friend so he asked evenly “I have no idea what you’re talking about”

Maia huffed and got deeper into the room, closing the door shut behind her “That’s a bunch of crap. I have no gossip of what’s happening with you”. Her voice got higher at the end of the sentence and Alec pinched the bridge of his nose to stifle his smile.

“There is no gossip, Maia. I am basically working non-stop. It’s all very boring and exhausting. When would I have the time to create any gossip-worthy news?”

“Uh huh. How about you explain to me how you and Magnus got all chummy and friendly when you could barely coexist in the same room before?”

Alec cleared his throat and focused his gaze somewhere over Maia’s shoulder “We had to put our differences aside for the greater good. Despite evidence to the contrary, we _are_ both professionals!”

“Right, it’s very professional the way his eyes are glued to you across the kitchen throughout dinner service. It’s also very professional how he seems to find excuses to touch you any chance he gets”. Maia was smirking, feeling very amused, but to Alec, the words echoed other words he’d heard time and time again too closely for him to feel anything but heart-stopping dread. So, he did what he had promised himself he wouldn’t do again. He lashed out.

“What’s your point, Maia? I’m not getting any preferential treatment if that’s what you’re implying”

Maia’s amusement shriveled up so fast that Alec felt guilt coat his insides. She frowned and stated evenly “Easy there, I would never imply that. I was just teasing you, Alec. What the hell?”

He really had to let it go. He knew that. He just didn’t quite know how to. It was a reflex to think the worst, because as long as he expected the worst, it didn’t hurt quite as much.

It was a farce really, and even he knew it. The hurt burrowed into his heart no matter what he did. It was just a matter of bracing for it. If he expected people to be shitty, it drove the winds out of their sails when he wasn’t surprised by their viciousness. But Maia wasn’t Mark or Beth or Jacob or any of the assholes back at _The Institute_ , who’d made coming to work a living purgatory. Maia was his friend who was interested in how his life was going, and damn it, he needed to start trusting his gut when it came to these things. Otherwise, he might as well go sit in a corner and sob his life away in eternal solitude.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. It’s a bad habit that I’m trying to kick”, he explained, reaching out and squeezing her arm in apology.

“Yeah, it’s okay, dude, just don’t accuse me of shit like that again”

She looked at him thoughtfully for a moment before blurting out “I know that I don’t ask but it’s clear you had to deal with some problems back at _The Institute_ ”

At his bewildered expression, she gave half a smile and shrugged “You never talk about it. It’s kind of telling that something shitty happened. Plus, a friend of a friend of mine used to buss tables there and she said that one of the cooks had left one day without giving any notice. I didn’t ask for more details but I also didn’t want to make you self-conscious so I never said anything. If you do want to talk though, I’m a good listener. Just throwing it out there”

Alec felt his throat close up in overwhelmed emotion. All he could do was nod at her like a dork, grateful that she hadn’t hitched herself to the bandwagon of hate and falsehoods swirling around his past job. He knew how easy it all was, how convincing it looked from the outside. After all, that was how quickly his job prospects had crumbled to dust after he left Victor’s toxic environment. He hadn’t been worried about news of their relationship leaking to other people in the industry, because Victor would never deign let his reputation be tarnished by something so unseemly, but also mostly because the convoluted story of his attitude had been enough to tank any job interview that he’d gotten.

Half of it had been Victor’s doing, and he knew it. After he’d left abruptly and refused to answer any of his calls, Victor had taken it upon himself to badmouth him to every restaurant manager who’d called to get a reference. It had been his trump card to get Alec to yield. _Fucker_. But the other half, Alec knew, had been the staff. People talked. Chefs gossiped more than old grannies on Bingo night at the community center. By the time he’d stepped out of _The Institute_ kitchen, he’d been already branded as a spoilt degenerate who had punched his sous chef in the face and skipped out without as much as a week’s notice.

He could have fought, sued for defamation, tried to change the general opinion. Hell, he could have tried to make his colleagues see the light at the very least, but he’d been beaten down as it was, exhausted from spending every day in such a soul-draining mood, living in misery about a suffocating relationship that had felt hopeless, so he’d just slithered into the shadows and let them all think whatever the fuck they wanted. It had taken him months before Luke had walked into his apartment and told him to get his shit together and apply for the sous chef position at _Alicante_. Maybe it had been the fact that he hadn’t just handed him the job that made Alec actually consider it. It had granted him an outlet for his frustration to fairly work towards something and have his skill be the only determining factor in whether he made it.

“I appreciate it”, he finally croaked out when his voice was steady enough. “I don’t like bringing it up because there’s really nothing to talk about. I just dislike people thinking of me as a teacher’s pet or something equally as degrading. It dredges up old misunderstandings”

He looked at Maia whose eyes had softened in understanding and tried to find any pity in them. The lack of the embarrassing emotion was probably what made him continue “I should probably stay away from Magnus to avoid putting myself in that situation again, shouldn’t I?”

Maia tilted her head slightly and asked him in a confused voice “Do you want to stay away from him, though? Because from where I’m standing, you seem to spend just as much time as he does surreptitiously stealing glances at him. I’m guessing that whatever it is that’s happening, it’s not quite one-sided”, which was the crux of the issue. It really wasn’t one-sided.

When he’d been with Victor, he had rarely had time to really think about the intensity of his feelings or lack thereof. It had been a whirlwind and Alec had been too caught up in the novelty of being wanted and cared for by a man so overwhelming that he’d scarcely had time to sort out the jumble of his own emotions. With Magnus, it was overwhelming in other regards. For starters, Magnus’ attention didn’t feel like a balloon slowly taking up space in his stomach. Magnus’ attention felt like sweet molasses. It was soothing and warming and so utterly addictive. The best, or arguably, the worst part of it was that Magnus’ approach to courtship, this slow burn of anticipation and excitement, left Alec with too much time to sort out his feelings. It was all he did, as he tried to sleep, as he tried to work, as he ate or showered or breathed or listened to his brother rave about Simon and their mending relationship. His brain, helpful organ that it was, carried out Magnus’ words and actions on a loop like a giant billboard that just wouldn’t stop flashing in neon colors.

It was distracting and frankly, a withering inconvenience, but it made him capable of saying with confidence that he had strong feelings for Magnus Bane… Probably more than he should have at this point.

“It’s not”, he reluctantly admitted and Maia seemed to understand that it wasn’t a subject he was very fond of, because she said “Well, in any case, you should know that everyone feels there’s something going on”

Alec’s heart dropped to his feet. “That doesn’t make me feel better, Maia”, he told her frankly, his mind already swirling with what they could be thinking.

Maia sighed like she was exhausted from dealing with such simple-minded creatures “You didn’t let me finish. First of all, I doubt Magnus was really trying hard to act subtle. I mean, _Alexander_ , it is rather obvious that you guys are in the sort of synergy that our kitchen has never seen before. Second of all, and I say this with only the deepest most platonic sentiment at heart, the sexual tension is kind of hot, but you are both emitting some heavy headed pheromones and the kitchen is hot enough. Trust me, _we notice_. It’s like those telenovelas my momma’s aunt used to make me watch with her when she babysat me as a kid. Except, it’s gay, there’s way less fainting involved and you’re not both wearing those ugly long blazers the male leads were so fond of, which makes it all infinitely more bearable”

“Thanks. Glad you approve!”, Alec threw out sarcastically, still anxious about everyone knowing that he and Magnus were involved.

_Who even said “involved” in the comfort of their own mind? He made himself gag sometimes._

“You’re welcome”, Maia replied, rather _un_ sarcastically, then rolled her eyes and told him to quit fretting “I’m pretty sure the guys are going having a betting pool about who’ll cave first any day now. No one cares that you guys like each other. _Au contraire,_ the people I heard talking about it were making comments about how rather sweet it all was and how cute of a couple you two would make. Ryan said that the long gazes reminded him of when he met his wife”

Alec frowned because that wasn’t a ringing endorsement “Isn’t Ryan getting a divorce?”

“Aren’t we choosy with compliments?”, his feisty character of a friend argued, arching her brow in disapproval “The man still fell in love before he fell out of it”

He really couldn’t argue with that assessment, even if he felt it rather ominous to compare his brand-new _whatever_ with Magnus to a failed marriage, but he bit his tongue on the matter.

“The point is, nobody is giving you the stink eye or taking things out of proportions. Everyone here knows how good of a person and how good of a chef you are, and getting together with a co-worker, even one who was your temporary boss for the time being, isn’t going to flush all of that down the drain”

He let himself really ingest those words and try to get them to stick to his stubborn brain. Maia seemed to understand that he wouldn’t suddenly unclench and stop fretting but was willing to let it go because he would make an effort, and at the end of the day, that was the best he could do, so after ribbing him for a few minutes about whether or not he and Magnus had kissed – _he said no but blushed so profusely that she hooted with laughter and let him get away with a smidge of his dignity still intact_ -, the two of them went out to get ready for the day. Alec couldn’t help but notice that he felt decidedly more at ease.

* * *

Magnus looked at his phone screen and rolled his eyes, silencing the shrill ringing. It was the third time Victor had called over the last two days, which wasn’t usual had they been on good terms, but was downright bizarre now that Magnus had made it clear they were done. It shouldn’t have felt so anticlimactic to destroy a decade-long friendship, but once Magnus had confronted Victor with the conversation he’d overheard, he’d left him very little leeway to weasel out of the accusations. Victor had, in total Victor fashion, told Magnus that he was being naïve and gullible by taking the side of someone already privileged and entitled, as if Alec’s pedigree made it fair game to ruin his life. He hadn’t expected Victor to own up to his fuck-ups, but his response had made it infinitely easier for Magnus to let go and further opened his eyes to the fact that he’d been so damn stupid.

Not that he had needed Victor’s poisonous words to come to that conclusion. Magnus glanced at the clock and felt his lips curl up into a smile despite his best efforts. No, the truth was that the moment Magnus had stopped trying to force himself to dislike Alec, it was like his eyes had finally opened to see Alec as who he really was. So far, Magnus was enjoying the discovery quite a bit. The first admission he had to make, though it chafed at his professional ego, was that Alexander was a ridiculously talented chef. Many people had the ability to cook, but very few had a knack for creating. Alec, Magnus had discovered, fell into the latter category by innate genius. The man approached cooking in a wild manner that Magnus was growing rapidly fond of. He took risks and wasn’t afraid to try and fail, which clashed so horrifyingly with Magnus’ previous perception of him, that he couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by shame at his own attitude.

There was this innate confidence about Alexander’s demeanor that Magnus had long confused with arrogance. Aside from how ridiculously attractive it was, it made him dependable, reliable and made the people around him feel more grounded. It felt like a hard pill to swallow, but Magnus was beginning to understand how quickly he’d risen through the ranks to be a sous-chef. It also made the idea of collaborating on a menu very appealing.

Magnus gave a snort at his own thoughts and absently bit his lip, his teeth grazing the soft flesh in a poor imitation of that incinerating kiss he and Alec had shared the other day in this very office. His fists clenched as he recalled the utter bless of finally tasting those tantalizing lips he’d covertly wondered about. He hadn’t meant to kiss him that day, at least not yet, but there was something about that infectious energy Alec had had in that moment that made him hopelessly irresistible.

Magnus had always been aware of Alexander as a man, much to his libido’s pain and suffering. He had always felt an inexplicable attraction that had grated on him greatly. Ever since the revelation that Alec was not what Victor had made him out to be however, Magnus had inadvertently let his emotions have free rein. His attraction had grown roots, his awareness heightened tenfold and he had scarcely spent a night of sleep that didn’t start off with whimsical indulgences of stolen kisses and physical exertion that had little to do with manning a grill.

Alec may have thought that that kiss had been a spur of the moment brought on by Magnus’ utter relief at finding a solution for the Morgenstern situation. He may have deluded himself into thinking whatever scorching chemistry they had exhibited in those moment of lip lock had been a fluke, but Magnus had known better. He had known that he’d found that missing piece that had so far alluded his life. In one sweep of his tongue, Alec had erased all the loneliness Magnus had been harboring, leaving nothing but rightness instead, because Alec in Magnus’ arms, giving in to their chemistry had felt _right_.

And so, he’d finally owned up to his heart and decided to take the plunge. He had been harboring fantasies of being bold and going for what he wanted for so long, and all of a sudden, what he wanted was crystal clear. Never in a thousand years would Magnus have thought that he would court someone so diligently, and if a few months ago, hell, if a month ago, you’d have told him that the man he would be pursuing would be Alexander Lightwood, he would have thought you were in need of a psychiatric evaluation, and yet, there he was, checking the clock like a love sick fool, waiting for his staff to clear the kitchen so he could have Alec all to himself.

He loved everything about their moments together. The way Alec blushed and looked equally irritated by his blush every time Magnus complimented him. The way electricity zinged up his being every time their limbs so much as brushed. The way the space between them seemed to hum with unresolved tension and yearning. The way Alec sometimes seemed to forget that he was reticent about Magnus and gave in to a helpless smile that made the room infinitely brighter. The way it felt to see him relaxed as his siblings roved around him like puppies, excitable and hopelessly enamored. But mostly, the way it felt to see him so completely in his element, creating magic in his fingertips and delighting in every flavor and taste. Magnus would be embarrassed by how smitten he was if it were anyone else. But with every interaction, Magnus was more certain that Alec was exactly what he needed. He was the kind of man Magnus had dreamt of meeting his entire life, and though he’d wasted plenty of time already, there was something primally satisfying about the chase, about having to earn Alec’s affection. Magnus had never been afraid to put in the work, especially If it meant having Alec in his life.

Magnus smiled to himself as he thought of what he’d prepared for today and how Alec would react to it. He couldn’t wait to see that luminous smile that made his heart jump in his chest. It was with that dopey smile of anticipation painted on his face that Alec found him, poking his head through the office door to tell him that everyone had left and they could get to work. He took one look at Magnus and arched a brow in question.

“Everything okay, there?”, Alec asked with amusement.

“Just peachy. I’m excited for work”, Magnus replied smoothly, rising from his seat and walking towards the kitchen.

Alec stood in the doorway, blocking his way and his brows notched a bit “I forgot to tell you by the way. I won’t be able to work tomorrow. I know the deadline is on Thursday but tomorrow is-“

“Don’t worry about it”, Magnus interrupted. He knew what tomorrow was and he wasn’t sadistic enough to make the man work on a day off that was coincidentally his birthday.

“We’re ahead of schedule enough to handle it. We have three more dishes to finalize and it should be okay”

“Yeah”, Alec agreed, stepping away from the doorway and heading to the testing station, ingredients already strewn about on the countertop. “I was thinking about the prawn squid ink ravioli by the way and I think I figured out how we can make the sauce better. How do you feel about using bird’s eye chilis in the passata?”

Magnus felt excitement rise through him as he followed Alec’s train of thought and said “Lime instead of lemon juice too?”

“Exactly”, Alexander smiled in agreement, his eyes twinkling and Magnus had to fight the urge to lean over and taste that sunshine smile on his lips. He looked towards Alec’s journal that was open on the countertop and nodded his head “Walk me through it, Chef”

Magnus felt his back scream in pain as he rose from his crouched position and stretched his limbs. A glance at the clock told him that they’d been at it for seven hours. No wonder he was exhausted. They’d already been at the restaurant since six in the morning for Sunday brunch and now it was nine o’clock at night.

He watched Alec roll his neck one way and the other, stretching out the kinks and smiled at his exhausted eyes.

“I don’t know where the time went”, he murmured softly, his smile lazy and indulgent and everything Magnus wanted in his world.

“it probably went into the ten thousand times we made the fish curry”, Magnus said with a chuckle, thinking that he never wanted to see coconut milk again, and Alec laughed “And the five hundred times we made the rhubarb yogurt sauce for the lamb chops”

It had been a productive session. They’d dwindled their list to one last dish that needed to be tested in its final form, their folder of recipes now full of finalized lists of ingredients and spices that made up a menu Magnus hadn’t believed they could make, but was immensely proud of. It was his and Alec’s brain child, and for that reason alone it was special, but it was also genuinely one of the best menus he had ever seen, and he couldn’t wait for them to share it with the world.

Alec rearranged the folder and stacked the recipes together, making sure that everything was in its place before stretching his limbs again and looking at him “Well, I guess I’ll see you on Tuesday, then?”

Magnus couldn’t believe that he was this nervous about such a simple gesture but it felt monumental in a way, as if Alec’s reaction would be the indicator that they were going in the right direction or if there really was no hope for them; He cleared his throat and looked around, avoiding Alec’s questioning gaze “Actually, if you could hang around for a minute, there’s something I wanted to show you”

“What is it?”, Alec asked and Magnus raised a finger in the universal sign for “Just a minute”

“How about you go put that folder back in the office and get back here”

Magnus could tell that Alec was suspicious, but Magnus practically begged him with his eyes to go with it, and Alec sighed and nodded, moving towards the office.

Magnus went to the huge industrial fridge in their storage unit and uncovered the box he’d kept hidden in there, making sure that no one had put their grubby hands on it. He brought the tart out just in time for Alec to walk out of the office, closing the room behind him. He looked up and saw Magnus holding the plate and froze.

He looked from Magnus to the plate and back up again, and Magnus felt his hands grow clammy. _You’d think he was proposing with how nervous he was, Jesus Christ._

He laid the decadent salted chocolate tart on the counter and softly said “Happy birthday, Alexander”

Alexander was still looking from the plate to Magnus and back again, like he was confused. Magnus started to grow antsy as he waited for him to break the silence. After a few tense moments, Alec whispered so slowly that Magnus almost missed it “Thank you”, but still made no move to come close to the counter. He was looking at the dessert as if it would jump up and chase him, his eyes filled with an unnamed emotion that Magnus wasn’t familiar with.

Magnus released the pent-up breath that he’d been holding and in typical nervous fashion, started rambling “I was going through medical records the other day looking for mine and I saw that it was your birthday tomorrow and since we have the day off… I didn’t want to do this in front of everyone. I didn’t think you’d appreciate the attention, but I’m sorry if you wanted something bigger. I’m sure that none of the guys even knew that it was your birthday, it’s just…”

Magnus quelled the word vomit when Alec shook his head and looked up at him with a small smile. His eyes were shining in the light and his gaze felt soft in a way Magnus had never seen before. His heart hammered in his chest as Alec spoke, his voice suspiciously hoarse “No, I’m grateful you didn’t. I… I’m not a big fan of attention”

Magnus recalled the wedding and overhearing Jace and Isabelle commenting about his aversion to crowds and knew that in this regard at least, he’d made the right call.

Alec looked back at the tart and asked absently “Why chocolate tart?”

Magnus swallowed and replied honestly “Luke told me once that it was a birthday tradition for you”

At Alec’s thoughtful frown, he continued “We were discussing dessert options and he said that the chocolate tart had been a Lightwood staple at _Alicante_ , that your father perfected the recipe for your birthday because it was your favorite. It’s not on the menu anymore but I figured that you wouldn’t have had the time to make it yourself yet, with how busy you’ve been”

He hadn’t really let himself think about why the information had felt memorable when Luke had shared it, how he had hoarded the little piece of knowledge regarding a man he disliked so dearly to his heart.

Alec smiled a bit, the stretch of the lips nowhere near its usual bright cheerfulness and Magnus wanted to wrap his arms around the man in comfort. He spoke evenly “No, I wouldn’t have made it anyway. I haven’t had a chocolate tart since Dad…”

He didn’t finish the sentence and Magnus felt his heart drop to his feet as he finished it himself. He’d managed to put his foot up his mouth once again. “I am so sorry, Alexander. I didn’t mean to dredge up any bad memory because of this. I just thought I was keeping up with your birthday tradition”

“And I greatly appreciate it”, Alec said, looking at Magnus as if wanting him to understand how sincere he was. “You did nothing wrong. I love it. I just haven’t had the urge to make it since Dad passed away. It used to be something we did together. It didn’t feel right to make it on my own”

“I am so sorry”, Magnus started again, feeling like a complete heel.

Alec seemed to catch the note of misery in his voice because he shook his head with a smile and came up right to Magnus’ space, his tall frame emitting heat and comfort.

It was probably the first time Alec had initiated contact between them since their kiss, and with a finger, he lifted Magnus’ chin until all he could do was drown into the depths of his amber eyes, the golden flecks like shards of gold reflecting the light. Magnus could get lost in those eyes, had gotten lost in them more times than he cared to admit. Whether they were blazing with unrestrained fury or softening with care and affection, they were a sight to behold. With those eyes trained solely on him, Alec reiterated softly “Thank you for my gift, Magnus. I love it”

Was this what it felt like to fall in love? The feeling that your heart no longer wanted to belong to you, that it wanted to break through your chest, cling to this person and never let go? He could feel the poor bastard working overtime, thumping a mile a minute, turning Magnus’ entire being into one big twisted knot. He was so gone for Alec, with his charming smile and brilliant mind and caring heart and gorgeous face. He could do nothing but nod in acceptance and try to accept Alec’s words as they were, before he opened his mouth and completely obliterated the slow and steady progress they’d made. He couldn’t help being too greedy when it came to Alexander. He wanted to hoard his happiness and feel it wrap around him.

To alleviate the moment a bit, Magnus smiled a bit and told him “You still haven’t tasted it yet. Maybe it sucks”

Alec grinned, his eyes lightening a bit from the melancholic nostalgia that had gripped him.

“I don’t think you’re capable of mucking anything up. Did you use my dad’s recipe?”, he asked, moving to the service station to grab a couple of plates and cutlery. Magnus had even forgotten those in his haste. _Marvelous!_

“To the letter. It was in the archives, as were many others, actually. I didn’t think he made desserts too”

Alec smiled and ran a knife under the hot tap water “Yeah, it was his unwinding activity. Mine too, to be honest. Nothing clears my head like baking, although I don’t get the time to indulge in it as much as I used to. We used to go crazy on the weekends, and then he’d have to bring whatever baked goods we made to the hospital for Mom’s colleagues or to the restaurant, because we ended up making too many”

Magnus noticed the dreamy expression on Alec’s face and asked softly “You miss him, don’t you?”

Alec looked at him with surprise, and Magnus was glad to see that the question didn’t make him sad, just thoughtful “Yeah, of course I do. A lot of the time, I think of something that I want to share with him then it hits me that I can’t anymore. It gets better though”

“I never got to meet him, but he seemed like a great man, by everyone’s testimony”, Magnus said, wanting to know more about Alec but hesitating on how far to take this discussion. It wasn’t the simplest subject to discuss.

“He was”, Alec agreed easily, his smile growing wider, “He loved this place like you wouldn’t believe. It was his pride and joy”. He looked around at the kitchen, probably reminiscing about a childhood spent running around these very walls.

“Jace used to say that it was this place that killed him, that a man as young as he was, with no medical history wouldn’t have had a heart attack if he didn’t work himself to the ground. It’s partly the reason why he would never entertain being a chef”

“And what do you think?”, Magnus asked softly and noticed how Alec’s smile didn’t lose any of its luster.

“I think that what happened, happened and that there is no point in finding culprits, but that _Alicante_ feels like an echo of his soul. You can see traces of his legacy in every corner of it. Whenever I walk through the doors, it feels like my father is right there with me, giving me a warm hug. I could never despise this place”, he answered earnestly and Magnus felt another piece of him surrender itself to the real estate this man was occupying in the landscape of his heart.

“He would have liked you”, Alec said absently, his eyes still tracing the room around them, and Magnus’ breath stalled in his lungs, because he didn’t know how to interpret that comment. Would he have liked him as a chef, or as a prospect for his eldest son?

Alec continued as if he could hear the wheels in Magnus’ brain working “He liked people who were direct; Who went for what they wanted. I think he would have gotten a good laugh out of…”

He stopped talking and blushed a bit, probably remembering Magnus’ declaration about his intentions in the pantry, and Magnus couldn’t stop his smile from growing until it overtook his face. This was grounds he was familiar with “Out of me outright telling you that I was going to seduce you?”

Alec shifted in discomfort or embarrassment, the apples of his cheeks going pink in the most endearing way “You’re not seducing me. Seduction has a different connotation than what you’re doing”

“Oh?” Magnus asked, unable to quell the tremor of laughter in his voice and Alexander gave him a dirty look.

“You know what I mean”, he waved his hand around to make his point and Magnus wanted to kiss him and hug him and tease him all at once.

“I didn’t think you were amenable to being seduced. I did promise I’d take it slow, but if it’s something that’s been on your mind, I’m more than happy to oblige”

Alec shifted in place again and cleared his throat “You’re doing this on purpose”

Magnus wanted to trace that blush with his tongue.

In the end, he decided to go easy on him, so he just motioned to the dessert that was still there witnessing their flirtation and said “Fine, I’ll stop if you’ll have some; Put me out of my misery here”

Alec grinned and cut a slice, serving it up on a plate. “I never thought I’d get to see you nervous about making something”, he said.

Magnus shrugged and replied honestly “It’s important”

Alec’s eyes softened at that and he looked like he wanted to say something, but then changed his mind and speared a forkful of the chocolate goodness. The moment he put it to his mouth, he closed his eyes and let out a deep noise of satisfaction that had Magnus surreptitiously adjusting his stance.

He watched as Alec swallowed the first mouthful and opened his shining eyes to gaze at Magnus in wonder “It tastes exactly the same. Thank you, Magnus”

Magnus didn’t think that he was thanking him just for the tart but more for the memory, so he just nodded and watched him bring another mouthful to his delectable mouth. A little smidge of chocolate adorned the corner of his mouth and Magnus felt his heart melt in tenderness; He must have smiled involuntarily because Alec opened his eyes again and asked him sheepishly “What?”

“Nothing”, Magnus shook his head and grinned “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself”

Alec nodded to the still full plate on the counter “Oh, have some. I’m not going to finish this all by myself”

“You could take it home and indulge tomorrow. It’s fine, I made it for you”

Alec squinted at him in mock suspicion and asked “Are you sure you didn’t make Ryan make this for you?”

Magnus smiled and shook his head. It would have been easy to ask their pastry chef to help out. After all, Ryan had been the pastry chef at _Alicante_ for at least ten years and had made the dessert more times than he could count, but Magnus had wanted to make this for Alec himself. He’d poured every ounce of love and affection he could into it, because it was Alec’s special day; He’d stayed up all night since he had to bring it with him to work at six in the morning, and despite being almost dead on his feet now, it was worth it for Alec’s expression of joy and wonder at that first bite.

“No, but seriously, Magnus”, Alec continued, “Have some”

Magnus looked at him, looking like everything he’d ever wanted, and took another plunge. _Be bold_.

Chocolate had never tasted more decadent than it did on Alec’s lips. The mixture of salty chocolate and Alec’s natural sweetness went to Magnus’ head quicker than any drug ever could. This time, Alec reacted faster than last time, putting his plate aside as Magnus spanned an arm around his waist, pulling him flush against him. His tongue swiped at the little smidge of chocolate on Alec’s lower lip before tugging at it firmly. Alec mewled at the action, the sound reverberating through Magnus’ body and skittering chills on his skin. Their hands burrowed around one another, skimming over each other’s backs and Magnus rued that they hadn’t taken their jackets off yet. His hands itched to rid Alec of his, but he didn’t want to take it too far and risk him putting a stop to this. He took his time getting reacquainted with Alexander’s lips, noting with feral satisfaction that Alec seemed to be as voracious for their kiss as he was, pushing him right up against the counter and instating himself firmly in Magnus’ personal space. Magnus expressed his approval by tightening his arms around Alec, one of his hands skating up his back to tangle in his hair. _He loved his hair._

He didn’t know how long they spent right there, wrapped around each other, until the taste of chocolate was overtaken by Alec’s natural sweetness, and they both had to separate to come up for air. Even then, their limbs remained where they were as Alec rested his forehead against Magnus, his breaths laboring out of him in puffs of air.

“Delicious”, Magnus hummed against Alec, making him smile, his beautiful eyes crinkling at the corners.

“You’ve got to stop taking me by surprise like that”, he said, the quality of his voice hoarse from their deep kisses.

Magnus smiled and leaned in deeper, pecking his lips and skimming his nose against Alec’s “Where’s the fun in that?”

Alec chuckled and pecked his lips back as if he couldn’t help it, as if he was afflicted with the same overwhelming need that Magnus was.

With the way they were plastered together, there was no way Alec could miss the incessant wild beating of Magnus’ heart, especially as he closed his eyes and nuzzled Alec’s cheek, asking into his skin “Go out with me tomorrow. We can do whatever you want; just say yes”

He didn’t want to lose this closeness; He didn’t want to give Alec enough time to build back his walls. He wanted to be near him for as long as he could, as long as Alec let him.

“Magnus”, he could tell that Alec was about to shoot him down and he bit his earlobe and whispered “Just one date”

Alec shivered against him and leaned his head back to look Magnus in the eye; His brows notched in a frown and Magnus instinctively used his thumb to smooth it, making Alec smile “I’m sorry, Magnus. I can’t tomorrow. I already have plans”

Magnus nodded, trying to keep the disappointment from his face, even as he asked “And if you didn’t? Would you agree then?”

He could read the hesitation on Alec’s face as more common sense replaced the haze of lust and emotion they’d been trapped in, and Magnus watched as Alec opened his mouth a few times and closed it before groaning and closing his eyes.

“I genuinely don’t know”, he said slowly, and Magnus had a choice. He could either let himself be disappointed by this outcome and spend the rest of his night wallowing in self-pity, or he could remind himself that Alec’s answer would have been a definitive “no” only a week ago and count his blessings that this man was saying these words while still being in his arms. _Progress, Magnus. Progress!_

Alec must’ve realized that Magnus hadn’t replied because he looked up at him through his lashes, clearly apprehensive about Magnus’ reaction “Are you mad?”

Magnus would be hard pressed to be mad at anything with Alec looking at him the way he was, and honestly, what douchebag made someone feel bad about having plans on their birthday. Smiling brightly, he shook his head and tightened his arms around Alec in a brief hug before stepping back and letting him go.

“I’m not. Thank you for telling me the truth”, Magnus said, leaning back against the counter and watching Alec get his bearings. They should get out of there before they mauled each other again. A look at the clock told Magnus that it was close to eleven and Alec was probably as tired as he was.

Alec was still looking at him as if waiting for him to blow up at him or throw a fit and Magnus tilted his head in enquiry, making Alec blink and look away; Magnus couldn’t help but think of how Alec seemed to expect certain reactions out of him and thought bitterly about why he did. He vowed to himself that he would erase all the bullshit that Victor had instilled in this wonderful man if it were the last thing he did.

He winked at Alec and grinned “I’m a big boy, Alexander. I can handle a few disappointments in life, especially if they’re for the sake of people who are worth it, and if you think that you not agreeing to go out with me once is enough of a deterrent for me, then you’ve insulted both your worth and my determination”

He could tell that Alec was biting back a smile, and it made him want to whoop in joy that they hadn’t ruined the mood completely. Wanting to make his point exceedingly clear, he walked back into the man’s personal space and leaned in, inhaling Alec’s intoxicating scent of vanilla and fresh baked bread.

“I’ll wear you down, beautiful”, he whispered against his skin and kissed his cheek, stepping back and around to get to the office. He turned in the doorway to see Alec leaning against the counter with his hands tightly gripping the edges.

_That was one promise he intended to keep_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading <3
> 
> leave a comment, let me know what you think, and I will see you with the final chapter soon :p
> 
> xoxo


	4. Chapter 4

Road trips that started at five in the morning were not high on Alec’s list of activities to do on his day off, and certainly not on his birthday. He made an exception for this one, however. Picking apples at the Freeman Apple orchard in East Hudson had been a family tradition for as long as he could remember. His mother would take the day off, their dad would close up shop and they would spend one day picking apples, making apple compote with the orchard’s owners, then in the evening, they’d huddle around a campfire as someone serenaded them with a guitar. Their parents would then bundle them back into the car and make the trip back to the city, waking up again in the concrete jungle of bustle and endless traffic, as if the whole day had been a figment of their imagination.

As they grew older, finding the time from their busy lives had become harder and harder to do. They’d given it up for a few years while they’d been in college, but when Robert Lightwood had suddenly died, leaving them to pick up the pieces of navigating life without him, they had made a promise to pick the tradition back up again, if only for the sake of the years they’d wasted.

Alec switched lanes and took the time to look into the rear-view mirror, noting that Simon was settled against the window, his head lolling as he slept soundly. Apparently, he’d had a gig the night before and hadn’t slept a wink. Izzy was also asleep, her head cushioned on Clary’s shoulder, who had a sketchbook propped on her knee as she drew the passing scenery. The sky was barely blushing as the first sun rays of the days fully broke through the dark. It was a majestic sight, one that Alec rarely got to savor in all its grandeur. Five in the morning wasn’t really his time of day usually.

The stereo was on low, playing We The Kings’ _Check Yes, Juliet_ as they sped along the interstate. All in all, his morning could be a hell of a lot worse.

Jace was sitting shotgun, his arm stretched outside the open window as he made little waves into the wind and sang softly along. Alec smiled to himself. Even when they were little, Jace always liked dangling half his body out the window like an overgrown puppy. Little had changed about the boy who loved the wind on his face.

He looked content, his eyes perpetually shining with a whimsical sort of excitement. Alec thought that it was a good look on him, one that was most likely brought out by the guy currently drooling on his pristine upholstery in the backseat. Ever since their “second” date, they both seemed much more settled. Simon had explained that while waiting on Jace at the concert Hall, he’d been approached by one of Jace’s past… acquaintances, for lack of a better word, who’d alluded to Simon that Jace wasn’t the type for commitment and made it seem as if he had a different guy in his bed every single night, causing poor Simon to get cold feet about the whole thing.

Sure, Jace had a healthy sex life, but that had been an egregious exaggeration and anyone who actually knew Jace knew it. He was just glad that Simon had chosen to believe him instead of some random bitter guy. Plus, Jace really did seem to feel differently about Simon than any of his old partners. Just the fact that he’d invited him on a family outing this early in their relationship told Alec all he needed to know about his brother’s feelings.

He put his blinkers on to switch lanes in preparation of leaving the interstate and Jace turned to look at him.

“We’re still not there”, he said.

“Yeah, but that cute diner where we usually get breakfast is around here. I’ve been dreaming of their omelet since last week”

Jace looked back into the back seat then turned back to Alec with a tight look on his face “I think we should go straight to the orchard, Alec”

Alec felt himself frown “Why? You guys are going to be hungry in an hour or so, and it’ll be too late”

Clary cleared her throat and said softly, clearly trying not to wake Isabelle “They offer breakfast spreads at the orchard now, Alec. Izzy checked. We should just go straight there”

“But I want the omelet…”

He was aware that he was whining, but dammit, it was his birthday and he wanted an omelet.

“We’ll get you an omelet at the orchard, buddy. Trust me”, Jace promised, putting his hand on Alec’s shoulder and squeezing in reassurance.

Alec didn’t understand why they were insisting on this, and he narrowed his eyes as he stared at Clary in the rear-view mirror. Out of the two of them, Clary was more likely to crack under pressure and tell him just what the hell was going on.

Clary noticed his narrowed gaze and smiled, winking at him “Just get to the orchard, you dork”

“There better be omelets”, he grumbled and turned off the blinkers.

They tumbled out of the car, Simon and Izzy still yawning and rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. The sun had barely crested the horizon and the weather was cool enough for a day spent in the outdoors. Alec took in a long breath of fresh mountain air and felt his joints unwind. He didn’t realize how much he’d needed to clear his head and get away from the city for a moment. He loved New York, the rush and chaos of it. It was the perfect city to lose yourself and find yourself a hundred times over, but sometimes, even he needed some recharging before braving the jagged edges of their home.

“I need coffee”, Isabelle demanded as she stretched her limbs and retied her hair into an elaborate knot at the back of her neck that looked both effortlessly casual and infinitely sophisticated.

Alec wanted to comment and tell her that they could have gotten coffee at the diner, but she was already walking towards the big farmhouse where the Freemans had lived since he could remember. That was when he noticed the little barn style building that had been built adjacent to the house. It looked charming and rustic, with big open windows and open shutters, white curtains fluttering gently in the breeze. It was apparently an eatery that the Freemans had added to cater to their guests throughout the day. Even at six in the morning, the place seemed to be bustling with customers.

The group started walking in that direction, Simon already talking about a stack of pancakes drowning in maple syrup, when Alec’s phone beeped in his pocket. He fished it out to find two messages, one from Maia wishing him a happy birthday. She was probably already on her way to her morning yoga class, that busy bee.

The other was from his mother, asking him to give her a call when he woke up. He pressed the call button and told the group to go ahead.

His mother replied on the first ring, immediately launching into singing happy birthday in English, Spanish and French. When she launched into Italian, Alec laughed and interrupted “Mom, I think I got the picture”

“Happy birthday, baby. I wish I was there right now. I would have made you French toast and given you a big hug”, Maryse said and he could tell that she was smiling.

“More like you would have burnt the French toast and we would have given up and gotten bagels instead”, he teased, recalling the last time his mother had tried to cook anything that didn’t involve an oven with a set timer.

“Hey”, she exclaimed then burst out laughing. “That is so embarrassingly true. See, that’s the problem with having a chef son. He will always one up me”

Alec listened to her huff and smiled. He’d missed her this past month “Thank you, Mom. How are you doing? How’s Greece? Or was it Hungary? I am starting to lose track. It’s like following The Amazing Race”

“Oh, hush you. We’re in Greece. Hungary was last week. There’s just so many beautiful cities, so much charm”, she gushed and he snorted.

“What? You didn’t find our lack of parking and bird poop in Central Park charming?”, he commented then smiled “I’m kidding. I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. You deserve it”

“Thank you. Now, why are you up this early? It must be barely six back there. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, we went up to the Freemans’. Izzy found an open slot and it’s my day off, so we drove up early”

“Oh, I bet that’s fun. Keep a couple jars of apple butter in your fridge for me until we’re back. Isabelle will eat it all if I count on her”, she whispered, as if Izzy would jump out of somewhere and know they were talking about her.

“Jace _does_ have more impulse control, so yes, I will”

“Knew you were my favorite”, she teased and he chuckled. Her favorite changed based on who would bring her food every day. Chances were, that was how Luke had managed to win her over in the first place.

Speaking of, his mom told him that Luke wanted to wish him a happy birthday and he listened as she passed him the phone and made a comment about him hurrying up so they wouldn’t miss their spot by the pool.

“Woman, I have been at the pool for half an hour. I came to check on you because you took forever”, Luke commented laughingly, his voice sounding muffled, before clearing as he probably put the phone to his ear “Happy birthday, Alec”

He thanked him and they spent a few minutes chatting about their plans for the day and the restaurant. Alec gave Luke some updates about the new menu and Luke listened carefully, throwing out a few suggestions that Alec made note of. When he could hear his mom ask Luke if he was ready to go, Alec bid them good day and told them that an omelet was waiting for him inside.

He hung up and made sure that he’d locked the car before following his siblings and their significant others into the eatery. That was one part about today that Alec was not really excited about. Playing fifth wheel to two lovey dovey couples was going to be exhausting.

As if by magic, his mind immediately conjured up kisses and chocolate and whispered invitations and Alec almost stumbled because he couldn’t deny how attractive the offer had been, how badly he’d wanted to say yes to Magnus’ invitation. His traitorous mind couldn’t help imagining what that date would have been like, what they would have done. And then Alec walked into the eatery and froze in his footsteps, as he watched the five people sitting in a beautiful deep dark wood booth, the one on the outer edge of the booth watching the door as if anticipating his arrival.

 _It looked like he wouldn’t have to wonder what that date felt like after all_ , he thought, because Magnus saw him freeze at the door and his lips unfurled in a happy, downright _giddy_ smile. He waved his fingers and mouthed “Hi” sheepishly.

The motion alerted Isabelle who turned and looked up at him with twinkling eyes, her typical little sister _please don’t kill me_ expression that she’d perfected over the years, painted on her face. She waved her hands and said “Surprise”.

As they indulged in a breakfast feast constituted of the freshest produce Alec had indulged in in quite some time, Magnus explained that Isabelle had called him to run a few changes she wanted to make to the dining room settings by him and that they’d gotten to talking about their plans for the day off. When she’d mentioned that they were heading to the orchard, Magnus had admitted that he’d never been apple picking before and Isabelle had insisted he join them. Alec side eyed his sister who had her face buried in her humongous stack of pancakes and rolled his eyes. _Yes, he bet that was the only reason his sister had invited Magnus_.

To be honest, Alec wasn’t mad that Magnus was there. He just hadn’t expected to face him so soon after yesterday. He still felt raw from their kiss, from the intimacy of the moment they’d shared, from Magnus’ thoughtful gift. Alec hadn’t felt like sharing anecdotes about his father in years, and certainly never with anyone other than his family. The fact that it hadn’t felt even the slightest bit weird to open up to Magnus shook him thoroughly, and seeing his beautiful face this early in the morning wasn’t helping him cope with his feelings at all.

Magnus was decked out in a black t-shirt that perfectly showcased his lean physique without looking obscenely tight, black jeans that not only molded to his body like clay, but also had little rips and holes in strategic places that enticed Alec with flashes of bronzed skin. The look was completed with a swirl black on white patterned jacket that Magnus had thrown on the seat next to him, black combat boots that looked mighty comfortable and an array of accessories around his neck and wrists. He looked ready for a day at the orchard, a night at the club and an afternoon with the queen all in one, effortlessly stylish and extremely appealing. Alec hated the fact that the first time he got to see Magnus in casual clothes, he had to share him with his rowdy family.

“Okay, so what does apple picking entail exactly?”, Magnus asked, patting his flat tummy contentedly. They’d inhaled so much food between the five of them, but it had been too delicious to pass up.

“Well, we’ll go by the farmhouse next door and pick up buckets then there’s generally a section that’s open to visitors and you can either buy your pickings as they are or ask them to make apple butter or apple cider out of them. The orchard has some really good experts on both”, Isabelle explained, her coy demeanor from a few minutes ago nowhere to be found. Alec was going to get her back for this one so hard.

“It’s my first time too, Magnus. We’ll help each other”, Simon chimed in, wiping his glasses with the hem of his t-shirt.

“You”, Jace poked his cheek, “are not going anywhere without me. No offense, Magnus”

Magnus arched a brow and smirked at the couple “None taken. I didn’t think apple picking was supposed to be a romantic activity, but to each their own”

Simon smiled shyly and Jace put his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder and sighed “Every activity is romantic when you’re with the right person”

“Ugh, you’re giving me diabetes”, Isabelle said, her face scrunched up in disgust and Clary smacked her shoulder with the back of her hand, laughing.

“What?”, she exclaimed as Jace rolled his eyes and threw back “No, you’ll get diabetes from the lake of maple syrup you poured into your plate. Jesus, look at that. You realize that the whole _drowning_ your pancakes is metaphorical, right?”

Izzy just poked her tongue out like she was five years old and Magnus chuckled so quietly that just Alec, who was sitting next to him, caught it.

“Still entertaining?”, he asked, recalling how much Magnus seemed to enjoy his siblings’ banter.

“You have no idea”, Magnus replied with a grin, and Alec’s heart skipped a beat. It was really unfair for someone to look so good and irresistible before eight in the morning.

“I never witnessed this kind of rapport growing up. It was just me and my mom and even with kids at school, I was never this close to someone”, Magnus added, taking a sip from his second cup of coffee.

“And now?”, Alec asked, unable to help it. In a way, he knew Magnus. He knew who he was as a person, but there was still so much about him that was an utter mystery.

“Now what?”

“Do you have anyone you’re this close to?”, Alec elaborated.

“Ah, one. My friend Cat. She’s a nurse, always on the go, so we don’t see each other as much as we want to, but that doesn’t stop her from giving me endless shit”. He said the words with the fond kind of smile that told Alec just how special Cat really was to him.

“It’s crucial to have someone give you shit in life. It keeps you humble”

Magnus burst out laughing and gave him an offended glance “You think I need to be humbled, Alexander? And here I thought we were getting better”

Alec felt himself blush as he looked at the quarrelling quartet to make sure no one had caught that comment.

“I meant in general. Don’t forget that I also have Maia busting my balls every five minutes”

“I should have a talk with her, then. I don’t think I’m fond of anyone having any special connection to your b-“

Alec put a hand over Magnus’ mouth to stop that sentence, and Magnus started laughing hysterically behind his hand.

“You’re a menace”, Alec told him, and only then realized that the other side of the booth had grown silent. He looked back at his siblings to find them staring at him and Magnus. Jace with an arched inquisitive brow and Isabelle with a smug smirk on her face.

He dropped his hand and busied himself with rearranging the cutlery.

“So, Magnus. Did you know that today is Alec’s birthday?”, Izzy started, her note reminding Alec of a predator setting a trap.

Magnus, bless his poor oblivious heart, just smiled and nodded “I did. I already wished him happy birthday”

The two shared a private smile that had Izzy narrowing her eyes even more.

“Really? Wasn’t that nice of you? You know, Jace told me the most extraordinary thing. He said that our dear brother had come home last night whistling. Now, I don’t know what you know about Alec, but he is _not_ a whistler”

Alec understood then and there that part of why Izzy had invited Magnus was so that she could launch a full-on investigation. He loved his sister but she was nosy like that. More than that, her being the first out of them to be settled in a loving stable relationship, she felt it was her sisterly duty to meddle in their personal lives like it was her day job. Knowing full well how hard it was to get her to quit once she got going, Alec turned to the only person who could overpower Izzy. He gave Clary a wide-eyed glance, begging her to interfere, and with an amused grin, she smoothly cut in.

“Speaking of Alec’s birthday. We promised the birthday boy some apple picking; How about we get on that?”

“Great idea”, Alec jumped in, not caring one bit if he was being obvious, and got up to find their waitress and pay the check. There was no way he was waiting for her to get to them.

Jace grabbed him by the collar and stopped him in his tracks “Over my dead body will you pay for anything today. Go grab your boyfriend and get him away from Izzy. She’s sniffed blood”

“He’s not my boyfriend”

“Irrelevant, although I would like the record to state my doubts on the matter. Go”, Jace pushed him back to their booth. Magnus and Simon were already walking out, Simon obviously pushing Magnus who was grumbling about the bill and wanting to help out. Izzy was still pouting at the booth at Clary, who was rubbing her arm soothingly, her indulging game face in place.

“You guys never let me have any fun”, Izzy was saying and despite it all, he let a grin loose. He knew she meant well. She just went about it like a bull at a china shop.

“I know, baby. I know. I’m just excited to go hide in the bushes with you and pretend like we’re picking apples while we make out and scare all the guests who stumble upon us”, Clary said with a twinkle in her eye, and Alec rolled his eyes. Their bucket always managed to have fewer apples than the rest of them. Now he knew why.

“That _was_ fun last year. Remember that preacher?”

Clary nodded and her lips twitched “We scarred that man for life”

“Oh please”, Izzy rolled her eyes, “It was the most excitement he’d gotten in ages”

“When you make it to Hell, Iz”, Jace said as he walked up to them, having heard the last of it, “Make sure to send me a postcard”

“Don’t worry. I’ll just save you a seat. You’d join me soon enough”, Izzy said sweetly, lifting her middle finger to rub her nose.

Jace just thought about it for a few seconds, then shrugged and walked towards the exit “Fair enough”

Alec just shook his head and followed after him. They were in tip top shape today and it wasn’t even proper daylight out.

He had no idea how it happened, but in the span of a few minutes, Alec found himself leading Magnus through the shrubs, a wooden bucket in his hand, while the other two couples meandered off on their own. He had been planning to remain within the safety of the group, where Magnus posed less of a threat to his composure, but Dumb and Dumber, aka his siblings, had made up a stupid competition about who could gather the most apples before lunchtime, and before he knew it, they’d saddled him with Magnus as his teammate and gone off faster than he could blink.

He walked ahead, tracing a path to where he knew the McIntosh apple trees were located. He loved them in cider and always made sure to pick some. Magnus was leisurely strolling behind him, his head twirling around as he took stock of the beautiful field of majestic trees around them. He had a look of pure wonder on his face and Alec couldn’t help but smile as he watched him. He rarely got to see Magnus discover something new. In the kitchen, he was always in charge, always the more knowledgeable out of the two of them. Very little got to surprise him into a stupefied expression. Alec had to admit, boyish wonder was a good look on him.

“You guys come here every year?”, he asked, his eyes jumping between Alec and the greenery around them.

“For the most part”, Alec confirmed, reaching up to the tree next to him and plucking a shiny Gala apple and throwing it to him. Magnus caught the pretty fruit and arched a brow at Alec “Feeling very Snow White-ish at the moment, Alexander”

Alec laughed and followed the wooden sign staked to the ground “Nah, what good would poisoning you do? I need you to carry the bucket when it’s full”

Magnus hurried along to reach him, walking by his side “Oh? So, that’s the only reason why you wouldn’t poison me? Nothing else?”

“Hm”, Alec pretended to think about it, enjoying their banter more than he cared to admit “I mean, I guess you’d be useful in the kitchen too”

“You wound me, Alexander”, Magnus said with a hand over his heart, though his lips were stretched in a smile that contradicted his words.

“How about for my wonderful kisses? My superior skills in tart making?”, he teased, brushing his arm against Alec’s, enticing goosebumps in his wake.

“I said it was the same, I didn’t say it was superior”, Alec threw back, unable to quell the tremor of laughter in his voice.

“Ouch, Alexander!”

Alec stopped when he would see the first McIntosh tree and turned to face Magnus “Can I ask you a question?”

Magnus still had a small smile on his face and he reached up to brush an errant leaf that had fallen on Alec’s hair “Sure, go ahead”

Alec ignored the small caress and asked “Why did you really come today?”

Magnus looked at him directly and his face seemed to call Alec a dumbass for not knowing the answer “Well, I _have_ never been apple picking so that was part of it, but I did tell you that I wanted to spend today with you. And I know”, he spoke over Alec, who’s opened his mouth to argue, “I know that you said you weren’t sure, but this is what we do, Alexander. You hesitate, and I push. I will never stop trying to push your boundaries if I think I can get away with it”

He gave a self-deprecating chuckle and looked around them “If I really am making you uncomfortable, though, I could leave. No harm, no foul. Today is your day. I just wanted to be part of it”

Alec realized that Magnus was right. If he hadn’t pushed for every milestone in their relationship, they would still be two wary people side eyeing each other from across a busy kitchen. If he looked within himself, Magnus had never pushed for something that he hadn’t freely wanted to give. He’d merely made him feel as if it was okay to want it in the first place. He was still a work in progress about what he could want vs. what he could have; and in a way, Maia had been right. If they were hurting no one, if no one cared, was giving up on whatever this was with Magnus worth protecting his heart? Better yet, wouldn’t giving up on this mean that he let Victor win? That he had conditioned him to reject the possibility of happiness? He looked at Magnus, with his sunny expression and dark soulful eyes and told himself that he didn’t have to figure out whether he wanted to spend his life with this man right then and there. He just needed to take a single step, a baby step. So, he opened his mouth and admitted “You’re not making me uncomfortable. I’m glad you’re here”

The grin that took over Magnus’ face was definitely worth it.

“You’re going to fall”

“I’m not going to fall”

“If you stretch up on your toes any higher, you are definitely going to fall”

“Well then, you can catch me, Alexander. It will all be dreadfully romantic. I’ll even swoon”, Magnus said with a wink, his arm stretched high above his head as he reached for a perfect looking apple.

Alec just shook his head and held on tighter to the ladder. Keeping up with Magnus’ enthusiasm as they went through the orchard had been fun, probably the most fun he’d had outside of work in a good long while. The man had what seemed to be a limitless reserve of energy, and he was having a blast getting his hands dirty. “I’m an authentic city dweller”, Magnus had declared when Alec had been surprised that he’d never picked any fruit or vegetable before. One of Alec’s fondest childhood memories was wandering through fields as his dad haggled with farmers and suppliers about quality and quantity.

Magnus had wanted to climb the ladder at every tree they’d scavenged for fruit, disregarding the fact that Alec was taller and thus could reach the highest branches more easily. Alec was having honestly too much fun watching him try to stop him.

The commanding man Alec knew in the kitchen nowhere to be found; Magnus had his tongue poking out of his mouth as he tried his best to reach the branch. He was red in the face, huffing like an old man and extremely determined to get the damn apple, as if it would be the end all, be all. Alec looked around the dozens of identical trees around them and snorted.

“Are you making fun of me?”, Magnus asked, his voice straining with the effort.

“If you could see yourself, you’d make fun of you too. Magnus come on, there is another tree right there. Just leave it”

Magnus ignored him completely and shuffled his feet on the ladder step, causing Alec’s heart to drop as he quickly grabbed his ankle to steady him.

“There is something you should know about me, Alexander”, he wheezed as his hand waved comically at the branch, still out of reach. “I’m stubborn”

Alec suppressed a laugh and sarcastically said “Oh, that I do know”

Magnus took note of Alec’s tone and turned his head to glare at him, causing him to lose his balance, precariously, and tumble off the side of the ladder and straight onto Alec’s body.

Alec felt the wind go out of him as he found himself lying in the grass, his arms full of obstinate man; It took him a few moments to catch his breath enough to mutter “I think you just broke my butt”

Magnus, who’d been lying on him in shock until then, started laughing hysterically, raising his head off of Alec’s chest to peer at him sheepishly.

“Hi”, he whispered softly, his eyes twinkling with humor.

“Hi back”, Alec said, lifting his hand to fish leaves and twigs out of Magnus’ hair.

“I’m sorry”, Magnus said, still lying on top of him, chest to chest. It was probably Alec’s imagination, but the impish little shit seemed to make himself comfortable even. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah”, Alec answered, and let his hand drift from Magnus’ hair to his cheek, caressing the skin with his thumb “Are you? Does anything hurt? Anything bruised?”

It was barely a few feet off the ground, but he’d still fallen off the ladder.

“Just my ego”, Magnus sad sheepishly and Alec grinned up at him “Oh well, that’s fine. There’s plenty of it to go around”

Magnus burst out laughing and pinched Alec’s side in retribution, making him squirm to get away from his wandering fingers. After a moment, Magnus put his hands on the ground on either side of Alec and prepared to lift himself up, and Alec immediately wrapped his arms around Magnus’ back, keeping them plastered together.

He felt substantial in his arms, his weight a delicious anchor; Birds were chirping in the distance. Despite it being midday, the air was crisp, the grass soft and pleasant under his head. It was a picture-perfect moment and Alec wanted to remain in it just a little longer.

“Are you having fun?”, he asked Magnus softly, using one of his hands to gently caress along his spine.

Magnus melted at the action, his limbs just settling into the voids of Alec’s, like two puzzle pieces that were meant to be slotted together.

“I should be the one concerned with your amusement. It’s your birthday”, Magnus replied, sounding a bit drugged as his eyes roamed Alec’s face, cataloguing every feature.

“I’m having a blast”, Alec admitted and Magnus smiled in triumph “So am I. Thank you for today”

“I think I should be thanking you. This was enlightening”, Alec said and Magnus tilted his head, inquisitive.

“In what way?”, he asked, folding his arms over Alec’s chest and putting his chin on them.

Alec smiled at the casualness with which they were lying in the grass, as if they’d done it a hundred times before. His fingers skimmed over Magnus’ lower back as he whispered “It let me know that I wouldn’t mind doing it again, just the two of us”

Magnus smiled “Yeah? I thought I would have to get wilier to get you to agree to a date”

Alec chuckled, the movement shaking them both “So did I, if I’m being honest, but… I am willing to give this a genuine chance…If you want me of course”

“There is little I want more than you, Alexander”, Magnus replied gently, and Alec looked for anything resembling dishonesty in his words and found none. Magnus’ soulful eyes were wide and truthful, his body pliant on his arms.

They stayed right there, lying in the grass, listening to the sounds of the orchard around them, letting the sunny weather lull them into a trance, just existing in this moment where no one got to interfere, where they could just bask in the novelty of their feelings, in the surprisingly robust nature of them. For such a new thing, Alec had to admit that he and Magnus possessed a beguiling familiarity with each other. It felt entirely natural to hold Magnus in his arms, _right_ even. Even the little voice inside that usually warned Alec of approaching danger to his heart was quiet for once, and he knew that it wasn’t because there was no danger to be found, but because his heart had already been thoroughly infiltrated.

* * *

Lunch was a lovely affair. The eatery wasn’t as full of people since most visitors chose to leave after picking up their apple harvests and spending the afternoons at more leisurely endeavors. The Lightwood siblings needled each other about their spoils, Jace and Simon boasting about their heavier load. Magnus had to bite his tongue very hard to keep from making a dirty joke. Sneaking a glance at Alec next to him, he looked to be doing the same.

They had beautiful tomato and mozzarella Pan Bagnat sandwiches, the freshness bursting on their tongue from the sweet tomatoes and the locally made buffalo mozzarella that just melted on their tongues. Fresh juices and mocktails complimented the fresh light lunch perfectly, and Magnus felt lighter than he had in a very long time. Maybe it was the way the Lightwoods were with each other, but their ease and banter naturally extended to their companions as well, and Magnus did not feel excluded or a stranger at all. In fact, and he was aware that he might be getting ahead of himself, he felt like this had the potential to be a very tight-knit group of friends in the long run.

After lunch, the group split up again, Jace wanting to take Simon on the cider making tour offered by the orchard owners, Isabelle and Clary deciding to make the trek to the neighboring dairy farm that sourced the cheese they’d had for lunch, hoping to pick up a few samples. That left Alec and Magnus looking at each other, trying to figure out what to do for the afternoon.

“If you’re not bored of me”, Alec started and Magnus wanted to snort at the ridiculous idea, “Want me to track down Mary to let us see how she makes the apple sauce, butter and compotes?”

If it meant spending more time with Alexander, Magnus would be willing to do anything. It didn’t escape his notice that this was actually better than any first date he could have thought up, nor did it escape his notice that he and Alec had spent all of the morning together, and he still craved more time. This didn’t happen to Magnus often. He was a guy who usually cherished his space, who had a quota of time he could tolerate people before his skin got itchy and his social battery drained completely. Hanging out with Alec didn’t feel like a chore. On the contrary, the more time they spent together, the more Magnus wanted to explore and discover about the guy. At work, he could tell himself that it was their passion for cooking that made the time go by faster, but here, sitting in a rustic barn, looking at Alec looking casual and relaxed in dark jeans and a forest green sweater that made him amber eyes pop, the perpetual crinkles by his eyes more pronounced from laughing in the shining sun, Magnus realized that it was him, and only him. His magnetic presence that Magnus was drawn to like a moth to the flame.

His chest feeling like it was cracked wide open from the force of his yearning, Magnus could do nothing but nod his head and murmur “That sounds like a good idea”

They spent the afternoon in The Freemans’ beautiful kitchen, chattering along with Mary, who co-owned the operation with her husband, who managed the business. The woman was a riveting source of wisdom, entertaining them with tales of the early days when all they had were a few trees in their yard and a small barrel where her husband experimented with cider combinations, trying to make the next great American beverage.

“It never quite took. I think it’s because my Barry doesn’t really know the meaning of the word patience, but he was quite certain that it was because the mix wasn’t unique enough”, Mary shared and from the way she emphasized the word “unique”, Magnus knew that trouble was coming.

“Oh boy”, he muttered sarcastically, keeping an eye on the bubbling concoction in the sauce pan on his right, where the most delicious apple sauce was brewing.

“I know”, she agreed with a defeated nod. “He started adding flavors. When I tell you that man tried everything under the sun, I mean it. Our garage once smelt like fennel for three months. Now, I quite like the smell normally, but have you ever smelt fennel that has been fermented and acidified? A skunk has nothing on it”

Alec and Magnus wrinkled their noses as they imagined the horrifying smell. Evidently, Mary’s husband had figured out the right way to make good cider eventually because the glass Magnus was having right now was delicious. Alec was chopping up more apples to make the second batch of sauce since the one Magnus was working on was going to be cooked longer to make butter.

Mary also asked about them and their work. She was familiar with the Lightwoods since they were loyal customers but she was still interested in knowing what was new with Alec’s job and life. They told her about their menu adventure and Mary expressed enthusiasm and told them that she herself had gone to culinary school before dropping out to help with the business.

“I realized later on that it wasn’t for me. I mean, I adore cooking, but I don’t imagine myself doing it every single day in such a stressful environment. If Barry complained that his meal was taking too long, I would just dump the pot on his head and tell him to take a hike. I don’t know how you boys deal with it”

They both laughed and told her that the aim was to avoid sending a late meal. That was what coordination and prep were good for. They got very few complaints or dishes sent back to the kitchen at _Alicante_ , and it was because the staff worked like a well-oiled machine.

Suddenly, Alec hissed and Magnus turned from the stove to see him clutching his pointer finger. Magnus felt his heart jump as he saw blood.

“Babe, you okay?”. The endearment had just slipped out unconsciously, and Alec’s attention was diverted from his injured finger by it, his focus on Magnus as his cheeks went rosy and his smile softened. Magnus couldn’t articulate what that soft look did to his heart. He turned down the stove and moved towards him, holding his hand in his and assessing the damage.

“Oh no. I’ll go get the first aid kit”, Mary told them both, and Magnus was only half aware of her as he fussed over Alec, who more than anything, looked amused.

“I’m fine. It wasn’t even a deep cut. I think it stopped bleeding already”, he said running the finger under the water tap.

“Are you sure?”, Magnus asked worriedly and Alec smiled and said “This seems familiar, doesn’t it?”

Magnus realized that he was talking about the time Magnus had cut his finger and Alec had helped him out, resulting in their first kiss and what was arguably the moment Magnus’ entire purpose in life had shifted.

“It does, except I hope that if I kiss you now, at least, you won’t run from me”, Magnus teased, enjoying how relaxed and at peace Alec looked in his presence. He no longer looked like he was two seconds from bolting out the nearest window. It made him drunk on happiness.

“I don’t know. How about you try and see?”, Alec murmured, his eyes dancing with mischief, and fuck if Magnus could ignore that expression or that blatant invitation.

Their lips met in a chaste peck that somehow packed more of a punch than both their previous encounters, and Magnus realized it was because this kiss didn’t reek of antagonism, unresolved tension or hesitant feelings. This kiss felt like sweet surrender, like whatever walls had once stood between them had come tumbling down, leaving only the pure honesty of their emotions. Alec’s lips nibbled on his, his teeth scrapping his bottom lip in a teasing manner, and the playfulness of the moment made Magnus nearly crazed with want. He wanted to inhale this man’s sweetness, revel in it like a contended cat lounging in the shade.

A throat clearing shook the pair from their kiss, and Magnus looked beyond Alec’s shoulder to see Mary standing in the kitchen doorway with a small red first aid pouch in her hand and a fond smile on her face. He didn’t even realize that Alec’s arms had wrapped around him until he had to step out of them to take the pouch from Mary, acutely aware that his cheeks were hot and more than likely blazing red.

Alec, in an unexpected turn of events, chuckled behind him, seeming relaxed and unbothered. God, Magnus loved that look on his face. He spent so much time stressing and overthinking everything, that seeing him look so assured in this thing between them, caused something to settle deep in Magnus’ chest, some hidden doubt that Alec would never fully let him in finally subsiding.

He busied himself with looking for the band aid to wrap Alec’s finger; He’d been right. The small cut had already stopped bleeding. Mary looked between the two of them and hummed “You guys make a cute couple”

“Thank you”, Alec said, and the fact that he hadn’t felt the need to explain to Mary how they weren’t really a couple yet, or how they had barely started exploring dating, made Magnus smile giddily at the cut he was currently wrapping up.

Soon after that, Mary shooed them out of the kitchen, since the sauces were going to simmer for a while now and didn’t require any stirring.

“Go take a walk around the property until the fire is lit. Your friends should be about done with their tours as well”, Mary said, and they agreed and each gave her a kiss on the cheek for letting them tag along. The woman blushed and told them that they were both charmers.

The blazing afternoon sun had mellowed out while they’d been inside, and the breeze had picked up, leaves skittering around in a beautiful melody that just made Magnus want to go back to that spot in the grass where he and Alec had lain this morning and close his eyes in relaxed bliss.

They started walking aimlessly around the trees, making sure not to go too far into the orchard on account that Jace had just sent Alec a message, telling him that their tour was over and that they were coming to find them in a few. After walking for a few paces, Magnus snuck a look at Alec, who looked blissfully content, an absent smile on his face. He must’ve felt him staring because he turned his head and smirked “What?”

Magnus didn’t know how to convey that Alec’s wild hair gently moving in the breeze was the most endearing thing he’d ever seen, so he just shook his head and intertwined their fingers together, squeezing a bit when Alec smiled in response.

Maybe he should have seen it coming, the relaxed mood a bit like the calm before the storm, but Alec’s tantalizing amber eyes had lulled him into a sense of safety that made Magnus forget about one little lurch in his relationship with Alec, one little detail that could make everything he had worked for in the past month come crashing down. And just his luck, as they turned around a bend in the path, they stumbled upon none other than Victor _fucking_ Aldertree.

* * *

The last place Alec would have imagined finding his ex-boyfriend would be a rustic orchard in the Hudson River Valley. Everything he knew about Victor Aldertree contradicted with this place like water and oil. The man made it his mission in life to look down on anyone who chose to lead such a simple fulfilling life. If Alec were honest, seeing Victor right then in this place that had belonged to him in his memories for so long somehow soured the entire day for him. Why did this asshole have to show up on Alec’s birthday of all days? He was the furthest thing from a gift Alec could ever ask for, more like a curse he couldn’t get rid of.

Alec knew that Victor wouldn’t acknowledge him in public like this, especially not in front of a stranger, but he still hoped the man didn’t address him at all. He didn’t feel like explaining to Magnus the nature of his relationship with his ex-boss. That was a can of worms he wanted nothing to do with. He tried to move around him, dragging Magnus along as they moved and Victor’s hand seemed to zero in on their clasped hands. His face grew splotchy red and Alec braced himself for the look of recrimination that was sure to follow, but weirdly enough, Victor seemed to focus his glare on Magnus, who Alec now noticed, had grown stiff, his hand turning clammy in his.

“Nice to know that you’re not lying in a ditch somewhere, and just simply ignoring my calls”, Victor snapped from the get go, his angry voice a contrast to the relaxed mood he and Magnus had just been in.

Alec cringed and told himself to brace for the inevitable drama, but when he opened his mouth to remind Victor that he’d blocked his number and therefore had no idea what he was babbling about, he was surprised by Magnus speaking in a hoarse voice that seemed filled with tension.

“I have nothing to say to you, Victor. I thought I made that quite clear”

Alec looked between the two of them in utter confusion. They knew each other? His mind went blank as Victor rolled his eyes and started laughing humorlessly in that obnoxious way he had.

“Oh, this is rich! So, you’re what? Just going to never talk to me again? What about my wedding? Michael has asked me why you haven’t shown up for any get together in a while. What am I supposed to tell him?”

Alec guessed that Michael was Victor’s fiancé and from the sound of it, these two had a lot of history to catch up on. His heart squeezed in his chest as anxiety creeped up on him, nearly cutting off his breath. Just how close were they? What did Magnus know? Unconsciously, he tried to move himself away from the scene and didn’t realize he did so until Magnus squeezed his hand, not letting go.

The gesture seemed desperate in a way, which didn’t help Alec’s rising panic any.

“Frankly, I don’t care what you tell him, Victor. I’m not coming to the wedding anyway, and whatever justification you give is your problem to figure out”

It was only then that Victor properly acknowledged Alec, his glare switching targets and searing him to his spot with the force of his disdain “I suppose that I have you to thank for this, Alec”

 _The speed with which Alec’s temper sparked at those words_ … He was so damn tired of taking on this man’s ire for no damn reason. He opened his mouth to lay into him when Magnus spoke again “No, you have yourself to thank for this, Victor. No one is to blame for your shitty actions and narcissistic behavior but you. I wish you a nice life, but please stop contacting me. This doesn’t have to be more unpleasant than it needs to be. We’re leaving now”

He squeezed Alec’s hand and started leading him away, and Alec almost followed in his confused state. He had no freaking clue what any of this meant. Victor and Magnus were friends. Or had been friends and no longer were. How long were they friends for? Why had they had a falling out? And why did Victor seem to think that it had anything to do with him? Alec had so many questions, but somehow, his mouth couldn’t seem to conjure up the words to say them.

Just before they slipped away, another voice that Alec wasn’t familiar with called Victor’s name and a beautiful dark-haired guy stepped around the same bend Victor had come through. He had delicate features that reminded Alec of a French model. His eyes were pale blue and his body was obviously fit without being bulky. The guy was absolutely gorgeous, and Alec couldn’t help but feel as if he knew him from somewhere.

Magnus’ muttered “Shit” made Alec understand exactly who this was. The fiancé.

“Hey, where did you disappear to?”, he asked, wrapping his hands around Victor’s arm, before taking stock of the other people standing across from them. He looked at Magnus and let out a dazzling smile. _Looks like the fiancé had no clue that there was trouble in Paradise._

“Oh, Magnus. What a nice surprise. Just yesterday, I asked Victor why you didn’t show up to the bachelor party. How have you been?”

Magnus, still maintaining some modicum of politeness, smiled charmingly at the man and inclined his head in greeting “Michael, I am well, thank you. How are you?”

The guy, Michael, smiled and chatted with Magnus for a few moments before also focusing on their still joint hands - _why were they still holding hands?_ \- and asked “Is this your boyfriend, Magnus? Hi, I’m Michael”, he waved his fingers in a little dance and introduced himself as if Alec hadn’t been standing there since he’d shown up.

Victor, who’d been blissfully silent since his fiancé had shown up, chose that moment to add his unwarranted two cents “He’s not his boyfriend”

The words had been spewed with such force and disgust that even Michael turned to Victor with a wide-eyed stare, the one couples gave each other when one of them was being rude to company, and Magnus lifted his other hand to wipe over his mouth and said “It’s still new. We just started dating”

Alec remembered that that was his cue and offered Michael a slight smile as he said “I’m Alec”. There was no reason to antagonize a perfectly innocent bystander in this mess, especially when the guy looked like he didn’t know how vile his future husband really was. A part of Alec wanted to be petty and confess right then and there the extent of his familiarity with Victor, how not even a month ago, this man had asked him to be his lover in spite of his upcoming nuptials, but the saner part told him to stay out of it. It was none of his damn business, and to be quite honest, all he wanted in this moment was to move far away from this ugly scene.

Magnus seemed attuned to his mood because he turned up the charm and turned to Michael, making excuses about how he wouldn’t able to come to the wedding, and how he and Victor had grown apart, and had decided that staying away from each other would be best. He wished them a happy wedding, and Alec couldn’t help but pick up on a healthy dose of sarcasm in that last statement.

Safe to say that by the time Magnus was done, Michael looked as dazed as Alec felt, simply looking between Magnus and a glowering Victor, who was looking off in the distance like some Napoleon wannabe.

And because this mess just couldn’t get any better, Jace and Simon had to stumble upon them at that very moment, Jace starting to talk to Alec before noticing their company and falling silent.

“Jace?”, the squeaky high-pitched voice had come from Michael, who was looking at Jace like he’d seen a ghost, his pale complexion going even paler. The group focused on Jace who seemed equally perplexed before recognition filled his features and his eyes widened comically.

“Michael?”, he asked incredulously, and Michael cringed and offered a lackluster hello.

“You two know each other?”, Victor asked, his nose turned up in a snarl that made Alec want to deck him.

“Um…Ah, Jace and I dated for a while a few years ago. What was it? Four years maybe?”, Michael said in a squeaky shaky voice that was nothing like the bubbly man he’d been before. Knowing Jace, that was code for _they’d hooked up a few times._

Jace’s face was blank and he nodded evenly and muttered “Sounds about right”

The blank façade seemed to fluster Michael even more and he just yanked on Victor’s arm and made excuses about their car being parked in the wrong spot, which… made absolutely no sense, and just like that, they were moving away from them in a hustle. Victor spared one last hate-filled look at Magnus and Alec before snarling and turning away.

The awkwardness in the wake of their departure could be tasted in the air, before Jace bent at the waist and started shaking. The group congregated around him, Simon rubbing his back soothingly while looking pale himself at the prospect that Jace was so shaken by seeing an ex of his. Then a snort split the air and they realized that Jace was bent at the waist from laughing so hard.

Alec and Magnus shared a glance of confounded amusement and waited until Jace got himself together again. His brother literally had tears of mirth in his eyes, and Alec just arched a brow, unable to keep from smiling in response despite everything.

“Care to share with the rest of us?”

“I can’t believe”, Jace wheezed, still clutching his stomach. It took him a few tries before he started again “I can’t believe that karma is that strong. Oh my God!”

“What karma, what are you talking about?”, Simon asked, looking lost.

Jace finally straightened up and turned to his boyfriend, settling his hands on Simon’s shoulders and giving him a wet kiss that had the poor guy blinking at him in wonder “Si, first of all, please know that that guy means absolutely nothing to me and that he never has. We were casual. Just casual for a very short period of time before he got too possessive and started demanding more out of our time together. He was a bad episode that has nothing to do with us”

Simon blushed and Alec considered that he may have been embarrassed to be having this discussion in front of Alec and Magnus. He cleared his throat and asked “Then why were you laughing? I still don’t get it”

“Because Michael had earned himself a very special nickname. Alec knows him as Shower gate Michael”

It was a testament that Alec had completely blocked the trauma of that incident that it took him a few moments before the nickname clicked and he looked at his brother, slack-jawed.

“ _No_ ”, he murmured incredulously and Jace started laughing again, nodding his head like a bobble head.

“You mean, that delicate looking creature, was the demon who put bleach in my shampoo?”, Alec asked for the sake of confirmation, unable to comprehend it. Michael had looked so nice and kind.

“Well, he thought it was my shampoo, but yes”, Jace corrected with a grin, “He hides the crazy really well, doesn’t he? No wonder I didn’t see it at first”

Alec refrained from pointing out that Jace had likely not seen the crazy because he’d been thinking with his dick and not his brain.

“Oh God, Alec. Can you think of any sweeter revenge than Victor ending up with Shower gate Michael? I would like to see that asshole try to cheat on Michael. Oh man, now I want to see it happen”, Jace said, still chuckling to himself, and Alec’s stomach cramped in dismay. He turned to Magnus to gauge his reaction to Jace’s words, but Magnus didn’t look surprised at Alec’s connection with Victor in the slightest. In fact, he looked equally as amused.

Sensing Alec’s gaze on him, he turned to meet his eyes and Alec could see a hint of trepidation in them, as Magnus gave a hesitant smile that seemed to encompass a lot of unsaid words. They needed to talk about it all and Alec was _not_ looking forward to that conversation.

They met up with Izzy and Clary, who were excitedly chattering about all the cheese they got to sample and all the things they’d bought. Clary threw him the car keys, and told him that they’d loaded the car with their purchases as well as all the products they’d gotten at the Freemans’. Alec made a note to check if any of the apple sauce jars had been smuggled out of the loot. Knowing Izzy, she could be halfway through one by now.

He had no wish to stay for the campfire now, especially if Victor and his crazy demon fiancé were going to be at it too. His head was pounding with the beginning of a headache, but he also knew that he and his siblings had only brought one vehicle and he didn’t want to be the party pooper who ruined the one time they got to be here, so he braced himself for an evening of looking aimlessly at the campfire and overthinking that entire scene over and over again. Until Magnus came closer to him and whispered “Do you want to get out of here?”

Alec looked at him, his eyes reflecting the reddish hue of the sun as it prepared to set for the day, looking impossibly bright. Despite the wariness Alec harbored about their upcoming discussion, he didn’t feel like putting distance between them. It had taken him so much to breach the walls he’d built around himself. The prospect of building them back up sounded more daunting than giving Magnus a chance to explain himself would take.

“I can’t leave. They’re all excited for the evening”, he explained, nodding his head to where the fearsome foursome was chattering, already moving towards the open area where the fire was built.

“I have a car. You could leave them yours and go back with me”, Magnus suggested, adding at the last minute “If you want. If you want to be here for the campfire, then forget about it”

Alec wanted to get out of there, the sooner, the better. He thought about it for a few moments before asking “Are you sure you’re okay with that? I mean, this is your first time here. Don’t you want to see all of it?”

Magnus just smiled and lifted a hand to brush over Alec’s cheek “I came here to spend the day with you, the activity was just an excuse. Plus, I think we need to talk”, he said hesitantly and Alec nodded. Yes, yes, they needed to talk.

Not giving himself space to chicken out, Alec called out “Hey guys”

They stopped and turned to them, noticing that they hadn’t been following. Alec pointed his thumb to Magnus and said “We’re going to get out of here; Magnus will give me a ride home. You guys can keep the car”

“Are you okay?”, Clary asked in worry, her eyes jumping between the two of them, and Alec smiled at her “Yeah, I’m just tired and we both have to get to work early in the morning, so we’ll go back. One of you will have to remain sober to drive the lot of you home when you’re done”

He dangled the car key in his hand and Simon motioned for him to hand it over “I can do that. I wasn’t going to drink anyway”

Alec threw him the keys, which he caught, and wiggled a finger at him “Don’t wreck my car, Simon”

Simon just grinned at him and promised that he’d be careful. Goodbyes were exchanged, and everyone spent at least three minutes singing him one last happy birthday…very loudly...while people stared….and clapped. He would kill them all slowly for that.

Jace gave him a backslapping hug and whispered by his ear “You sure you’re okay?”

Alec just thumped his back and murmured back “I will be”

“I know you will. Love you, Alec”

“Love you too”, he told him and with one last back slap, Jace jogged to catch up with the group, leaving him and Magnus staring at each other.

“Ready?”, Magnus asked and Alec nodded. _Ready as he’ll ever be._

* * *

Alec waited until they got on the interstate before angling himself in his seat and staring at Magnus “Start talking”

His tone wasn’t accusatory, but it was serious and Magnus felt his stomach cramp in worry. He recalled telling Cat that he wouldn’t confess his relationship with Victor until he was certain that Alec wouldn’t hate him for it. He thought of the ease between the two of them this afternoon, this whole day really, and hoped that it was enough. He hoped that whatever they had built together was sturdy enough to weather this conversation. All he could do was take a deep breath and start talking.

“I met Victor around ten years ago. I was on my last year of culinary school. He’d moved to NYC from Louisiana, having grown up working at his parents’ restaurant. He was…vicious in his approach to life. At the time, I had already acquired what you would call a chip on my shoulder. I was just so done with the snobs of the industry, teachers that took one look at the guy who looked too Asian for their taste to know much about Americana, and decided that he wouldn’t make it far. For every person who believed in my ability to make something of myself, there were six others who got off on telling me that I would never amount to anything. It was all about pedigree and privilege. The amount of times I’ve had to watch as someone I knew was less skilled got internship opportunities right from under my nose just because they had the right last name… Anyway, Victor was a breath of fresh air. He didn’t let anyone tell him that he wouldn’t make it. He was rubber. Every degrading remark bounced off of him. I think that was what I admired back then. Before I knew it, we were close friends”

As much as talking at the windshield without having to see Alec’s expression was helping Magnus get the words out easier, it was also daunting, because he had no idea what Alec was thinking. He took his eyes off the road to gauge his expression, but Alec’s face was blank, not giving much away. He evenly intoned “Go on”, and Magnus couldn’t deny him, even as he knew that this was the worst part of the story.

“We eventually ended up as we are now, with me as a sous-chef at _Alicante_ and him as head chef at _The Institute_. A couple of years ago, he started telling me about this line cook he had working for him, called Alec Lightwood”

His throat seized at that, because he really didn’t want to hash this out, especially not when every word is going to be a cut flaying at Alec’s skin. He’d already been hurt enough. He’d already dealt with this shit before and the last thing Magnus wanted to do was add to that pain. He’d done that for almost a year. That same shame and embarrassment at his atrocious behavior reared its ugly head, reminding him that he wasn’t exactly an innocent bystander. He cleared his throat and focused on the road ahead.

“The stories he told, Alexander. I… It was so hard not to believe them. He made you out to be this brat with no work ethics, and God… I know that you don’t want to hear this”

“No, I do. I want to know, and I think you owe it to me”, Alec said, and Magnus could detect a hint of annoyance in his voice, but the most prominent emotion was wariness, and Magnus’ heart hurt to think of Alec bracing himself for more misunderstanding and recrimination. Magnus didn’t have to think before he was moving one of his hands off the wheel, extending it Alec’s way. _Thank God for automatic rentals!_

Alec just looked at the hand then at Magnus’ face and Magnus smiled sadly and moved his hand in Alec’s line of vision “Take my hand, Alexander? Please?”

It took him a few seconds, but then, Alec’s clammy hand was clasped tightly in his and Magnus squeezed it gratefully, enjoying the way the gesture seemed to deflate the man next to him, his entire body going a little less stiff.

“There”, Magnus said, trying to infuse a bit of humor into this shitty moment, “Now, you can’t go anywhere”

Alec chortled and waved at the rapidly moving scenery “We are in a moving vehicle”

“You forget that I am familiar with your fight or flight reflex. I wouldn’t put it past you to jump out the moving car to get away from this conversation”, Magnus teased, gently skimming his thumb on Alec’s knuckles, trying to implicitly tell him that he had nothing to worry about.

Alec nudged Magnus gently “What did he say I did?”

Magnus swallowed the awful taste in his mouth and continued the tale of woe “It was something different every time; Sometimes, it was you not showing up to work without notifying anyone or giving any justification, leaving the staff to scramble to make up for your absence. Other times it was your attitude, that you were way too volatile, always mouthing off at your superiors, especially your sous-chef. Either way, Victor couldn’t fire you because it was suggested that it would make him an enemy of your family and he could lose his position”

Alec seemed unable to hold back anymore “That is such bullshit. I won’t deny that I was a bit of a shit when it came to the crew, especially when they started antagonizing me on a daily basis, but I never threatened him with anything. Hell, I tried to leave so many times and I just…”

He seemed at loss for words and Magnus squeezed his hand in solidarity “You don’t have to explain, Alexander”

“No, I just… This is exactly why I hate thinking about _The Institute_ so much. It’s like, I can’t deny any of these things, but they also didn’t happen the way everyone thinks they did at all, and trying to justify myself makes me feel so frustrated and helpless”

Magnus listened to the misery is his voice and felt his heart bleed in response. He wanted to stop the car and fold him into an embrace, tell him that he was more than the sum of all they tried to make him, that whenever he felt like telling his side of the story, Magnus would be there to listen, without judgment or censure.

“If you ever feel like untangling it all, I’m here to listen, Alexander”, he said and didn’t wait for Alec’s response. He didn’t want to pressure him. This wasn’t about him explaining himself. It was about Magnus coming clean.

“When you quit, Victor was so mad. I remember thinking that it made no sense, that he should have been ecstatic, but he just fed me some excuse about you being irresponsible till the very end”, Magnus admitted, “Then you were hired at _Alicante_ , and I let Victor’s words and stories sway me. I’m so sorry, Alec”, he said hoarsely, his eyes getting a bit blurry. _Shit, why was this so hard?_ Was it the possibility of what comes after? Or was it admitting how close he’d come to ruining the best thing that may have happened to him?

Alec was silent for so long that Magnus thought he’d fallen asleep. When he turned his head momentarily to look at him, Alec was staring at him with a curious expression. Magnus didn’t know how to explain it, but the lack of disgust and hate in Alec’s eyes made him feel like a right asshole.

“That’s why you’ve been like this all this time”, Alec said slowly, as if everything was finally clear to him now.

“And I can’t begin to explain how deeply sorry I am for it. There are no excuses to make. I chose to believe someone who didn’t deserve my trust, and I took it out for you. I…I understand if you hate me for this. I understand if you hate me for not telling you about this before. I just wanted a chance to show you that I wasn’t just the asshole who acted that way for ten months”

His heart in this throat, Magnus waited for a response, dreading what might come out of Alec’s mouth. Did he want absolution? Forgiveness? Understanding? He didn’t know what Alec would grant and that was the worst part about all of this. How far in were they together? Did Alec know how honest he was about wanting this?

He could feel his heart break when Alec untangled their hands, but before he could open his mouth to… _what? Beg? Cry?_ Alec grabbed his hand and started tracing random patterns on it with his forefinger, eliciting the most delicious goosebumps.

“Ten”, Alec said and Magnus looked at him in confusion. Alec smiled and focused his gaze on the doodles he was making on Magnus’ hand, adding in a quiet tone, “ten restaurants I applied to after I left _The Institute_. Ten chefs who refused to even grant me an in-person interview because Victor had already talked to them about me and my _work ethic_ ; Ten chefs I respected and wanted to learn from and who didn’t give me the time of day. I didn’t want _Alicante_ , or at least, I didn’t feel ready for her. I wanted to grow more, spread my wings, get over what happened, but every single place I applied to called Victor for a reference and well, that was the result. Now, let me ask you, Magnus. Do you think I hate those ten people?”

“You should”, Magnus gritted out, feeling angry on Alec’s behalf. Victor hadn’t been contended with ruining his job, he had to ruin all his other opportunities too? Magnus felt a renewed urge to pound his face in. “You should be mad at everyone who didn’t give you a chance to prove yourself, me included. God knows that I never stopped myself from hating my mentors who wrote me off as a nobody from the start”

Alec chuckled and continued, his voice still as mellow as ever “True, but then again, it’s not quite the same, is it? Those people wrote you off just for you looking different or having a different background. Those chefs wrote me off because they learnt I was a bad chef, by a trusted source in the industry”

“That doesn’t make it right, dammit Alexander”, Magnus snapped, hitting the steering wheel with the palm of his hand. He hated that Alec had spent time trying to come up with legitimate reasons why people had been awful to him. He hated that he was one of them.

“This industry is brutal enough, Magnus. Your image, your reputation is the only thing you have working for you. There are thousands of people out there who can cook, who are skilled. There’s a reason some can make it and some can’t. It doesn’t make it right or fair, but it is what it is. I have spent so long being mad, just raving mad about Victor and his shit, and frankly, he doesn’t get to take that much space in my head, you know? I have a good job, regardless of his shit. I have coworkers I like, and who treat me as one of their own, and if being content with those things makes me a schmuck or a naïve pacifist, then so be it. I learnt to pick my battles”

If Magnus already liked this man before, now he was in awe of him. He’d always treated Alec’s young age as a detriment to his wisdom and experience, but Alec, Magnus had discovered, was one of the most mature people he’d ever met. He hated that he had to learn these lessons the hard way, but he was absolutely in awe of his heart.

“I can’t believe this is the conversation we’re having right now to be honest”, Magnus admitted with an incredulous chuckle. “I thought that I would have to beg for you to let me explain myself, and here you are, giving me justifications for me being an utter ass”

Alec rejoined their hands together and laughed “God, Magnus. I just… I’m not going to deny that it sucks, that it hurts that for such a long time, you thought of me this way. Hell, I have had to bite my tongue from asking you what was with the attitude around a hundred times. Maybe if I had…”

Magnus dragged their joint hands to his thigh, playing with Alec’s fingers “That’s not your cross to bear. You did nothing wrong. I’m sorry”

“You know the funny thing. I’m actually relieved. I couldn’t figure out why you were so weird around me and it drove me bonkers”, Alec said on a laugh and Magnus had to laugh too, albeit for different reasons “Nope, just me trusting the wrong person”

Alec went nudged him again and asked gently “What happened, Magnus? Between this part of the story and where we’re at today? What changed?”

Magnus saw the sign for the city limits approaching and knew that their time was dwindling.

“I heard him. The day he showed up at the restaurant”, he started and Alec hissed through his teeth.

“Yeah”, Magnus agreed, “That was a wake up call if I ever had one. I thought he was coming to visit me, and I came out to meet him, heard your conversation… I don’t think I’ve ever felt like shit more in my life”

“That must’ve been hard, being disillusioned about your friend that way”, Alec said and Magnus couldn’t take it. He hit the back of his head against the seat and let out a disbelieving laugh that had very little actual humor in it “I swear to God, Alec. You’re killing me. How are you taking this so well?”

Alec turned to face him more fully and said teasingly “It would be easier for you if I yelled and screamed, wouldn’t it? It would feel absolving in a way”

Magnus hated to admit it, but Alec had a point “Yeah, I guess, which makes me an asshole probably, but when I think of how wrong I was about you, it aches deep inside”

Alec didn’t comment on that, just asked gently “How did you confront Victor about it?”

“I didn’t”, Magnus admitted, turning on his blinkers to get off the interstate. “There was nothing more I needed to hear after that conversation. I just let him know that I knew, and that I no longer wanted any contact with him. Today was the first time we spoke. He called a few times and I didn’t pick up”

Alec nodded his head, accepting the words, then looked out the window into the passing scenery as the bare view gradually got replaced with buildings and traffic. Dark had fully fallen, and Magnus had trouble seeing Alec’s expression, just impressions of it in the intermittent streetlights.

“It must’ve been hard, ending a ten-year friendship just like that”, he said absently and Magnus found himself laughing as he admitted something that had struck him in the past few days “It actually wasn’t. I think that in the past month, I’ve known more about you than I have in the ten years I’ve known Victor. I used to believe that his closed off nature was just part of him, but now I know that it came from having so many faces that he couldn’t give too much away”

Alec nodded and remained quiet, a thoughtful air about him. Magnus tightened his hand on the wheel, barely refraining from bursting out the question that was hovering on the tip of his tongue; _What now?_

He knew that he’d told his part, and now it was up to Alec. Magnus was the pusher in this relationship, but even he knew when time was needed, and he would wait for whenever Alec was ready.

Imagine his absolute surprise when a few minutes later, just as they hit peak traffic and had to slow the car to a near crawl, Alec turned to him, looking like his mind was made up about something, and asked casually “Do you want to grab dinner?”

Magnus probably looked like a gaping fish with the way he was staring at Alec, which was confirmed when Alec used his other hand to lift Magnus’ jaw and clamp his mouth shut, his mouth curving into a playful smirk “I’m in the mood for steak”

His heart pounding in his chest at the unexpected turn of events, Magnus decided. _In for a penny, in for a pound._

“I know just the place”

* * *

Magnus’ loft was a two-minute walk from the restaurant. It was set in a converted set of brownstones. Walls had been torn down to give it an airy open space feel. There were no doors to be found, just gorgeous exposed wood beams and warm-toned bricks. It made you feel right at home the moment you stepped in it. It was huge, but so well decorated, each nook and cranny conveying a certain vibe, personalized in a way that made it so easy to imagine Magnus in it. It was like each corner was representative of one side of his personality, the whole pf it granting you an instant feeling of warmth, much like the man who was currently puttering in the bedroom. Alec walked around, letting his nosy tendencies take over as he scoped out different paintings hanging on the wall, one of them signed by Clary, which made him smile in familial pride.

He reached a mounted wall of framed pictures, some yellow and blurry around the edges, telling of their age. In every picture, Alec noticed the same stately woman with the kindest eyes he had ever seen. She had Magnus’ smile and Alec found himself studying her features closely. Magnus walked out of his bedroom, wearing a pair of drawstrings grey sweatpants, paired with a loose black tank top. Alec gobbled the sight like a gift, noting Magnus’ bare toes curling in on themselves as he let Alec look his fill. For some reason, the fact that he was barefoot was the most intimate part of the whole scene, just casual relaxed Magnus in his home, allowing Alec the gift of seeing him that way.

Magnus looked at the picture Alec was focused on and smiled “My mama”

“She’s beautiful”, Alec stated and Magnus nodded “She is”

“Does she…Is she in New York?”, Alec asked slowly, realizing that he knew nothing of Magnus’ family.

“No, she moved to Indonesia a few years ago to take care of my grandfather, met a nice guy and stayed there”, Magnus replied, his smile turning fonder as he came by to hold one of the pictures and skim his thumb over the silhouette of his mom.

“You must miss her”, Alec said gently, echoing the similar conversation he and Magnus had had just yesterday.

Magnus put the picture back in its place and grinned at Alec, moving past him towards the open kitchen that looked straight out of his deepest fantasies. Limestone countertops, chrome finishes, huge industrial burner stove and an enormous gas oven. He was about to start drooling.

“I do, but she calls enough, mainly to nag about when I would come to visit, but yeah we’re close”, he admitted, opening the fridge to start pulling stuff out.

Alec thought back on his time at _Alicante_ and realized with a start “You haven’t taken a single day off since I started at the restaurant”

Magnus smiled at him over his shoulder “Neither have you”

“Yeah, but I’m surrounded by my family at every minute of every day. I can’t get rid of them”

“They _are_ very present”, Magnus said on a chuckle.

“You mean, meddlesome, then yes. Point is you haven’t seen your family in a year”

Magnus closed the fridge door, a plate with two thick beef filets on it in his hand, and shrugged “If I show up there alone, she will take it upon herself to introduce me to every single person she knows. She’s convinced that my happiness is directly proportionate to my marital status”

“You know”, Alec said teasingly, settling into one of the barstools lining the kitchen island, as Magnus started washing the ingredients he got out of the fridge. Chanterelle and Enokitake mushrooms and green Chinese snake beans. “I’m certain that there is a romantic comedy law that demands that you get yourself a fake boyfriend or girlfriend and visit your mother, in order to dissuade her from nagging at you”

Magnus laughed as he gave Alec a look that burned through him “Let me guess, then I would fall in love with this fake person and end up actually finding the love my mother wanted for me all along, right?”

“Something like that”, Alec agreed, imagining Magnus in love with some nameless person, and covering up the gaping ache in his chest at how much the thought hurt.

“I’ll think about it”, Magnus said then arched a brow, “Although I’m more partial to taking my real boyfriend to visit. Want to visit Indonesia?”

Yep, it was decided. Alec was never going to get used to Magnus’ direct way of expressing his feelings. He could feel the flush climbing up his neck and the grin that was stretching his lips to maniacal levels “How about you feed me first, and we’ll see about visiting another continent to meet your family. Maybe I won’t even like your steak”

Magnus mock gasped, clutching his heart dramatically, as if Alec needed any incentive to focus on the way his muscles bunched in that tank top and the way his skin was just inviting touch, smooth and hard, like iron covered in velvet.

“Take it back”, Magnus threatened and Alec braced his elbows on the countertop, plopping his chin on his hands “Feed me”

Magnus laughed and saluted “Aye aye, Captain”

He opened a drawer and retrieved an apron that said in bold italic font “Careful, very hot, and so is the food”

Alec burst out laughing and Magnus rolled his eyes in exasperation even as he smiled “Ragnor and Catarina’s sense of humor leaves much to be desired”

“I think you wear it quite well”, Alec admitted, watching the man tie the apron around his waist, looking like a wet dream Alec hadn’t realized he had.

They talked about everything and nothing while Magnus made dinner; buttery sweet mushrooms and chopped up snake beans on the side, along with pepper steaks cooked perfectly. Watching him cook in his home was somehow different to seeing him cook at work. There was something about the way he seemed so absolutely relaxed that was doing weird things to Alec’s heart.

Maybe people would call him stupid for coming home with Magnus after everything that had happened today, but Alec had had an epiphany in that car, listening to Magnus tell him about Victor. _He didn’t care_. For as long as he could remember, Victor Aldertree had been the deciding factor in how he chose to conduct himself, first by looking up to him, then by trying to fix the mess he’d made, and finally by making sure he never put himself in a similar situation ever again; In that car however, Victor had not been a factor. He didn’t get to take this from him. He didn’t get to take away this bright spot of happiness that was slowly becoming essential to him.

He hadn’t expected to be chill about this, and yet, sitting here, drinking a glass of chianti as he watched Magnus cook them dinner with care and affection, joking around and just breathing the same air, was the most at peace he ever remembered feeling.

It was a domestic scene that Alec wanted to recreate over and over again. He could see it clearly; Coming home after a long night of work, chattering quietly about their day as they fixed themselves a quick meal, their limbs finding each other because they just couldn’t help but touch one another. A chaste kiss as one passed the salt, a quick caress as the other opened the fridge, a quick embrace from behind as someone flipped the food in the pan. He wanted it. He was surprised by how much he wanted it, so badly that he would give up all his inhibitions to have it, to have him.

He noticed Magnus stealing glances at him, a secret smile playing on his lush lips, and asked “What?”

Magnus just shook his head “I like you in my home, Alexander”

Alec smiled because he liked it too. He looked around and admitted “I love it. It’s so you”

“Thank you”, Magnus said with glee and Alec could tell that he really appreciated the compliment.

They had dinner right there in the kitchen, their legs touching each other as they turned partly on their stools, discussing what they wanted to finalize tomorrow before giving the full menu its first trial run on Wednesday.

Somehow, talk turned to their careers and Magnus admitted that he was thinking of applying for a few head chef positions in restaurants nearby.

“I love _Alicante_. It taught me more than I can ever repay, but at the end of the day, it’s not mine. It will never be mine, and this past month taught me that I can handle it, that I’m ready for it, but mostly, that I _want_ it”, Magnus admitted and Alec had to admire his way of thinking. He was right. As chefs, there was only so high you could climb at a kitchen before you knew that you needed your own. It was the ultimate goal, the thing everyone aspired to, having that freedom to manage their own kitchen;

“Then you should go for it. I can tell you that you deserve it, hell of a lot more than some other people I know”, Alec said and Magnus smirked, recognizing that he meant Victor. Somehow, bringing him up didn’t feel that daunting now that he knew everything. It was like he and Magnus shared a kinship. Talking about it felt like giving Victor even less power.

“Well, I can’t argue when I know that part of the reason why he’s marrying Shower gate Michael”; Alec snorted. “Is because his father is rich, like stupid old oil money rich, and he gave Victor the capital to open his own restaurant. Apparently, he’s very old school about spending his money, and wanted Victor to be part of the family first”

From the look of discomfort on Magnus’ face, the idea of marrying for money didn’t sit well with him, which attested to his character, but Alec also knew Victor. “It’s not just part of the reason. It’s the whole reason. Michael is prone to dramatics, and Victor _hates_ dramatics. They’re as well suited as oil and water”

Magnus looked like he wanted to say something but was thinking better of it, biting his lip and getting up to clear their plates. Alec stopped him with a hand on his arm and grabbed the plate from him.

“You cooked. Sit down”, he told him and didn’t give him time to argue, grabbing the plates and rounding the island to rinse them under the tap. Magnus smiled in thanks and sat back down, holding his half-finished glass of wine and swirling it around.

Alec stole a look at him before sighing and giving in “Whatever you want to ask, ask it”

Magnus looked at him warily, his eyes swirling with hesitance, and stammered “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable”

“I would tell you if I was”, he promised. It was only natural to be curious. He expected Magnus to ask how he and Victor had gotten together, what had happened between them, but to his surprise and amusement, Magnus put his glass to his lips, the rim of the glass partly hiding his smirk as he asked slyly “Did you really punch the sous chef?”

Alec froze for a second in surprise before throwing his head back and laughing loudly. Magnus seemed to be equally as amused and he shrugged as he said “I have zero filter”

“Don’t I know it?”, Alec muttered loud enough for him to hear, making Magnus narrow his eyes at him.

Turning back to the actual question, Alec sighed and thought about that stupid moment. It was one of the many things he regretted, even if Mark had deserved to be decked.

“Yeah, I did”, he admitted morosely, then gave Magnus a sheepish look “It’s not really something I’m proud of. It was dumb and immature, but it happened when I was already so fed up with the entire situation, and I kind of lost it”

He could tell that Magnus had more questions but was trying to be respectful of his privacy, which was so damned sweet, but not needed. “Just ask, Magnus”, he said casually.

Magnus smiled in apology and asked “I don’t have any…Just, can you tell me about it. Whatever you’re comfortable sharing”

It felt therapeutic to let it all out, to tell someone finally how bad it had gotten. How one minute, he’d been a bright-eyed new guy with dreams and ambitions, getting googly-eyed by the chef’s interest, and how before he knew it, they were staying together most nights and their lives were so intertwined that Alec had no idea how to find himself in the chaos. They had both agreed early on that keeping their relationship a secret was the way to go. Victor hadn’t wanted Alec to get any shit for their relationship, and Alec had agreed, unbeknownst to him that it was Victor himself, that would make it abundantly clear that there was something between them. He never let anyone criticize Alec, even if he rightfully deserved it, and the criticism was warranted and appreciated. When he told Victor that he was just harming him with this overprotective chauvinistic bullshit, Victor was quick to gaslight Alec and make him feel like he didn’t care as much as he should have.

He never knew which way was up with Victor. One minute, he was berating the sous chef for a remark he made on his cooking, and the second, he was convincing him that he wasn’t ready for a better position, that he was still green and inexperienced. The passive aggressive remarks and backhanded compliments were threaded so carefully through his speech that it took Alec months to untangle them and realize why his stomach cramped with anxiety every time Victor spoke to him.

On more than one occasion, Alec would wake up in Victor’s apartment, only to find that Victor had left and locked the door behind him, leaving Alec trapped. He’d call him to come open the door or call the super, and Victor would groan and moan and tell Alec that he had sallow skin and a gaunt complexion and that a day off would do him some good. “Just take the day off. I’ll take care of it”, he would say imperiously and hang up, leaving Alec stewing in his own frustration because he wanted to work and he wasn’t a damn prisoner. The next day, he would walk into work to find everyone giving him disgusted looks, because he’d left them in a lurch. It wasn’t until weeks later that he learnt that Victor had never given justification for his absence, just said that he wasn’t coming and then yelled at whoever muttered under their breath about it not being fair.

The worst part about it was how long it had taken Alec to realize that it wasn’t just a series of coincidences, that the way Victor chose to belittle his concerns and wave away his reasonable worries was a calculated attempt to make him doubt himself and his own value. And when he got frustrated and raised his voice in a feeble attempt to be heard in the goddamn relationship that was supposed to be his safe space, he was dubbed dramatic and childish, immature. No matter how he tried to complain that he didn’t need to be coddled, Victor always managed to make him the bad guy. “Excuse me for caring” “I’m sorry I’m invested in your wellbeing, Alec” “Oh, so you don’t want my help, is that it? Now I’m the bad guy for standing up for you?”

He didn’t know how it happened, but little by little, he started believing those words, that he didn’t know any better. Especially as every time he mentioned getting more experience by applying to other restaurants, Victor scoffed and told him that he wasn’t ready. “Not all chefs are as tolerant as I am, Alec”, he would say gently, as if he was worried for Alec’s fragile sensibilities, as if Alec was a fuck up and Victor was doing him a favor by taking him on. By then, he’d lost all hope of making friends at the restaurant. Their disdain made him defensive, which in turn made him snarky and sarcastic. Nobody appreciated him mouthing off when they muttered about him, but everyone knew he was untouchable, only most of them believed it was because of his last name that Chef Aldertree treated him that way.

By the time the thing with Mark had happened, he’d been dying for a way out, unable to stomach leaving - _because what if Victor was right? What if he wasn’t as good as he believed himself to be?_ –, but still feeling like he was losing his mind at that place and in that relationship. So, when Mark had made a stupid comment about his daddy’s name not being good enough to deal with his shit, he’d let his fist fly. In a way, it had been his way out. After all, he would be fired if he assaulted his superior, wouldn’t he?

He remembered the feeling of freedom as Mark’s nose had gushed with blood, that he was finally done. But then Victor had done what Victor did best. He’d manipulated the situation, making Mark out to be the instigator, which he had been, but it didn’t excuse Alec’s behavior and they both knew it. He’d known then that he couldn’t stay another day. He could imagine how awful it would feel to walk into the kitchen the next day, seeing everyone’s derisive stares, how no one would bother talking to him, how he would feel even more alone, more despondent. Not even cooking had made him feel better. So, he’d broken down and called his brother, knowing that he needed someone to drag him out.

Jace had shown up without a word, helped him pack his stuff and get out in the same night. He’d helped him wallow, let him mope, and offered him unwavering support and faith. That had been the greatest gift. Jace’s faith in him.

By the time he was done, Magnus had downed three more glasses of wine, looking more and more miserable with every glass. He looked at Alec like he was about to start crying and Alec arched a brow and waited him out.

When he finally spoke, it was nothing like Alec expected “I hate him, but more than that, I hate myself, because I’m just like him. I made you feel like you did something wrong all this time”

“Shut up”, Alec didn’t realize that he’d snarled the words until Magnus blinked at him owlishly, his body swaying slightly on his chair.

Alec lowered to the countertop, his forearms finding a much-needed cold surface to cool his ire “What was it you said the other day? Don’t insult both your worth and my ability to be a good judge of character! You are nothing like Victor Aldretree, Magnus. You know how I know? Because once you realized you were wrong, you’ve done nothing but try to make up for it. You didn’t make yourself the center of the narrative. You gave me the chance to tell my story and you listened. You are one of the best men I’ve ever known”

Magnus’ eyes were shiny in the kitchen light, and despite his anger, Alec wanted to laugh at the discovery that Magnus was an emotional drunk. “I don’t deserve you”, he said miserably, laying his head on the cold counter, and Alec reached his hand to run it through his hair, enunciating his words carefully, even though he knew that drunk people weren’t the most receptive audience “You deserve whatever you strive for, and I don’t care what you think, you have me”.

A moan of misery escaped Magnus and Alec couldn’t help but laugh, feeling lighter than he had in forever. “Come on, let’s get you into bed, Drunky. You’re going to be hurting in the morning, but I guess there’s not much we can do about it”, he told Magnus, holding him up and leading him to his bedroom.

Magnus’ bedroom was furnished in gold and royal blue, the patterns so lively and inviting, and so distinctly him. Magnus didn’t have much time to look around as he led a very quiet and obedient Magnus to the foot of the bed, turned down the duvet and urged him to lay down.

As he straightened, Magnus’ hand grabbed onto his and he begged “Please stay”

As much as Alec wanted to fall asleep in his arms, Magnus was drunk and so much had happened already today. He probably needed some breathing room. Trying to explain this to a drunk and frankly hilarious Magnus, proved to be harder than it sounded. Magnus just shook his head and tugged at Alec more forcefully “Please. The restaurant is right at the end of the street. Just stay”

They cajoled each other until Alec gave in with a sigh. There was no way he could deny those puppy eyes peering up at him, that lower lip pouting so prettily. He lowered his head enough to peck that lip once, twice, three times and Magnus lifted his arms to wrap around his neck, clearly planning to take things to the next level. Alec chuckled and straightened up, listening to Magnus whine and drop his arms comically.

“You’re drunk. If in the morning, you still want to get hot and heavy, we will reconsider”, Alec said sarcastically, and Magnus rolled his eyes and glared at him “Get into this bed, Alexander”

He did as he was told, taking off his jeans and sweater and folding them neatly on a chair. He was left in his boxers and turned around to see Magnus leaning up on his forearms in bed, checking him out like he was a burlesque show on the Las Vegas strip.

His cheeks flaring with heat, Alec shuffled his feet and looked at him “What?”

Magnus smiled slowly and said in a voice Alec was familiar with “I have wanted to lick that tattoo for ten months”

The words caused a ball of heat to gather in Alec’s stomach and he tilted his head and stared at Magnus, who licked his lips and waggled his eyebrows like a lecher, causing Alec to burst out laughing and hit him with a pillow from the foot of the bed.

Magnus took the hit with an oomf and cracked up, settling back into bed as Alec got in on the other side. He stared closely at the tattoo that spanned the entire left side of his pec, a gorgeously detailed depiction of a sea dragon, wrapping around his shoulder in coils, all the way to his back. It had taken three sessions to complete and he loved the elegance of the black and shadows on pale skin.

Magnus raised a hand to trace the coils and scales, leaving shivers in his wake. “Why a sea dragon?”, he asked.

Alec smiled and let him play, even if it made it harder to gather his thoughts enough to answer “In Greek mythology, the Myceneans believed in sea dragons like long lost gods that appeared in their waters whenever they were needed. When they were on the brink of extinction, of destruction, the sea dragons returned, bringing with them prosperity and hope. I… I needed some of that, that reminder that even on the edge of losing myself, I could still have my own version of sea dragons”. He pointed out where the tattoo artist had artfully inserted names into the dragon design. _Jace, Isabelle, Clary, Maryse, Luke and Robert_. It was his favorite thing he’d ever decided to do, and Magnus made a noise deep in his throat when he saw the last name threaded through the dragon’s tail. _Alec_ , because he was also his own hero in a way. He’d made it out, and he could and would pick himself up again, and again and again.

“I think I’m falling in love with you”, Magnus said slowly, the words seeming like they were a hazy thought that had been drifting through his mind. Alec’s breath stuttered in his chest as he looked down at the man beside him, who had in such a short amount of time granted him such a joy in life. He’d made him believe in companionship again, in the possibility of standing next to someone and feeling like their equal, like they were in it together, partners.

If Magnus thought that he was falling in love, then Alec knew he was, and for once, the thought didn’t frighten him. It exhilarated him. Because life with Magnus in it was always an adventure. As he tried to articulate these words into something that wouldn’t feel too big too soon, he looked down at the man next to him and found Magnus’ lashes fluttering closed, his breathing evening out as he dozed off and Alec smiled and kissed his cheek. He turned off the light and settled close, gathered Magnus in his arms, noting how warm and right his weight felt against him, and let the rhythm of his breathing lull him into a gentle peaceful sleep.

* * *

It was D-Day, as Maia had helpfully dubbed it. After doing their best, slaving away, today their creation was complete and ready to be shown to the world. If you wanted to get technical about it, they’d had a trial run yesterday, which had gone splendidly if Magnus did say so himself. The staff had been so excited to cook the dishes they’d seen them create for the past few weeks, and had taken to the recipes like ducks to water. The mood in the kitchen had been infectious, the excitement palpable and passion high. It had shown when they’d received no less than a dozen compliments from satisfied customers, making him and Alec feel like they could finally breathe. The crew had sung Imagine Dragons’ _On top of the world_ during clean up, and Magnus hadn’t stopped them at the risk of superstition.

Today remained the real test however. Not only were they releasing the entire menu out to the masses at once, but Valentine Morgenstern had a reservation at 8pm to dine at their prestigious establishment. Everyone was feeling the heat, _pun intended_ , but instead of anxiety, there was a sort of hunger to prove themselves. He looked at the clock, noting that there was still thirty minutes to dinner service and sighed. Alec had told him that he was vibrating in place earlier.

His phone pinged on the desk and Magnus smiled, thinking that it was Luke wishing them good luck from wherever he and his wife were today, but upon seeing the notification, Magnus’ smile dropped instantly. _What did he want now?_

He opened the text message, which, like previous ones Magnus had ignored called him an idiot for throwing away their friendship for a piece of ass - _Victor’s words not his_ \- and telling him that no matter how hard he tried, he would never have Alec the way he wanted. Magnus grinded his teeth and looked at the message thread, noting how every message sounded more desperate than the one before it, some filled with lewd details about his relationship with Alec, some telling him that Alec would regret it and come crawling back to him eventually.

He had told Alec that Victor had been contacting him, and Alec, the saint that he was, had just shaken his head and told him to ignore him. The thing was, maybe deep down, Magnus wasn’t as generous, nor as mature as Alec was, because as he took screenshots of the conversation and attached them to a message to Victor’s fiancé, explaining how his future husband was still obsessed with his ex and had asked to keep seeing him after the wedding, Magnus couldn’t conjure up any other feeling but pure glee. Maybe he should have left himself out of couple drama and steered away, but fuck that noise! Let Victor know exactly what kind of man he was trying to deceive!

With a pep in his step, Magnus put his phone in the drawer before going out to join the fun outside. He stepped out to find everyone eyeing the clock like it had personally offended them and almost laughed. They were so psyched. He clapped his hands once, getting everyone’s attention. He looked each of his chefs in the eye, noting their excitement and spoke to that. He could feel Alec move behind him to get to his station and snagged his hand, halting him by his side. This was their brain baby. He deserved to stand there and enjoy the credit for it. Someone let out a wolf whistle, the sound like a baseball bat that cracked the tension. Everyone started laughing and Magnus could tell that Alec was trying to get used to being on display like this again. Their staff had taken note of the changes in their behavior and had teased them about it plenty over the last couple of days. They looked genuinely happy for them and Magnus hoped that with time, their easy acceptance would eliminate all memories of Alec’s past.

“Alright, you hooligans”, Magnus started and everyone quieted down, little smiles still painted on their faces, “This is it. Judgment day”

Alec poked him with an elbow as if to say _what the hell are you doing_ and people started laughing again. “He’s such a worry wort”, he said in a mock-whisper and someone from the back called out “Are you guys going to be like this all the time?”

He could feel Alec begin to stiffen next to him and gently squeezed his hand and called back “Yep”

“Cool. Getting on diabetes shot as we speak”. The words were spoken with a teasing lilt and Alec deflated.

“Okay, stop distracting me. I’m channeling the President’s speech from _Independence Day_ and y’all are ruining this”, Magnus said seriously and some scattered groans could be heard around the room.

“We have worked towards today like crazy, pouring our heart and soul into a menu that would be worthy of accolades and get Morgenstern to shut up for once in his life”. _A few whoops and Amens_.

“And now, here we are, and my only word of advice is this: he doesn’t matter”. He could tell that everyone was listening carefully. Alec nudged him in support and he continued “You know who does matter? The people who are out to have a good time tonight, the ones who made a reservation, possibly had to be waitlisted to get one, and who are spending their hard-earned money to have a memorable evening. Those are the only people you need to care about. Those are the ones you need to impress”

“Most of all though, I want you tonight, to impress yourselves. Well, _and me, obviously_ ”, he added sarcastically and Maia saluted with a grin. “But I want you to walk out of here tonight and know that you were at the top of your game. This is a new adventure. Alec and I may have created the recipes but I want you to have fun with them tonight. As chefs, this is what we do. We cook, and what makes us different from everyone else is that we cook with our souls. We cook with heart. Infuse your own sense of self into every vegetable, every piece of meat, every drop of sauce, because trust me, once that plate goes out to the dining room, the customer will be able to tell. They will taste the passion and the love and the care you poured into every minute and they will remember you for it”

Just then, a server came into the room, holding a slip of paper, and grinning as if sharing in on the excitement. Magnus grabbed the order with a grin and turned to the expectant faces staring at him “Let’s cook our asses off, chefs”

* * *

Alec watched as Clary carried a tray of beverages and set them on the table, handing each person their preference. It was way after closing time and normal people were usually in bed at this hour, but between the eight of them, there wasn’t a single person with a 9-5 schedule in the room. Simon, Maia, Alec and Magnus had come straight from the kitchen, their jackets still smelling of smoke and oil and heaven knew what else. Jace had just finished a concert and was in his post-performance high, which meant that it would take him at least a few hours to come down. Isabelle and Clary had been manning the front of the house and could have gotten home a couple of hours ago, but had stuck around for the occasion. Last but not least, Catarina, whom Alec had met for the first time tonight, had come here straight from the hospital and was currently scarfing down a deconstructed octopus jalapeño taco like her life depended on it. In between bites, she tried her best to ask about him and get to know him, and Alec could already tell that he was going to be great friends with her. She had this unshakable calm about her that he appreciated immensely, and that made him understand how she and Magnus had been friends for so long. They complimented each other perfectly.

Magnus, who was currently sitting in Alec’s lap, his long legs dangling off the side and his arm wrapped around Alec’s neck, waved his hands around frantically and said “Can we get on with it, please?”

Isabelle gave him a narrow-eyed stare and unlocked her phone, finding the article. It had been a week since they’d launched their new menu, and the Valentine Morgenstern review had dropped today. By mutual agreement, they’d somehow managed to keep from reading the article until everyone got together. In Jace’s wise words “We either drink with you in celebration, or we drink with you in solidarity”, and so there they were, sitting in the dining room at _Alicante_ , waiting to hear what one of the strictest critics in the country thought of their hard labor.

Everyone stared at Isabelle as she said “Okay, got it. Got it. You ready?”

Magnus grumbled under his breath and Alec fought the urge to laugh. He skimmed his hand on Magnus’ lower back and stamped a peck on his forearm, making him smile at him for a second before he turned to Izzy, who was looking at them with a soft look on her face and said “Go on”

She started narrating the article, which started with their restaurant and specialty and highlighted when valentine had visited before the actual roasting could begin.

“ _The_ Alicante _menu does not overflow with originality. When the server told me that the concept was fusion cuisine, I nearly got up and walked out the door in haste. It was so bland and uninspired that I braced myself for a night of torture. Fusion cuisine took off ten years ago in haute American cuisine, even longer in other more palate-adventurous places around the world. By attempting to bring it back,_ Alicante _has fallen into a pit of its own hubris, believing that reputation trumps dedication to advancing the culinary arts_ ”

“Fun guy”, Jace interrupted, his mouth twisted to the side. He downed his whiskey and leaned his head back on Simon’s shoulder. Alec wanted to laugh. This was Valentine being…nice. He knew that it sounded insane, but in comparison to every other review the man had made of their restaurant, this was starting out really well.

Magnus said as much, and he seemed much more subdued now that the anvil had dropped. Jace just looked at him like he was crazy and said “Why do you torture yourselves with people like this?”

Isabelle rolled her eyes and slapped his thigh, making him howl in pain.

“As if music critics are any less vicious. I’ll never forget that guy who said you played like a tone-deaf pigeon with indigestion”, she reminded him and he rubbed his thigh and stared at her in utter betrayal. “Now let me read”

“ _However, what the_ Alicante _’s Fall menu lacks in inspiration, it makes up for in execution. As is common practice when I visit a restaurant proposing a variety of options, I indulged in several appetizers and entrées in a bid to assemble an accurate opinion. I expected to see glaring attempts at fusing several cultures into one monstrosity of a plate, in vulgar bold strokes. Imagine my utter surprise when I was served dishes that looked nothing of the sort. As I delved into a sea bass crudo, I recognized the hint of ginger mixed with horseradish, the tang of tamarind, lending a sourness to the plate that was both pleasant and innovative; This fashion continued with the sushi carpaccio, served as rice ball covered with a paper thin slice of pork loin, drenched in a sweet sour sauce and torched to a crisp smoky texture_ ”

Valentine’s review continued enumerating each dish he’d ordered and the ways he was surprised by each component, before he concluded.

“ _I realized that Chef Bane and Chef Lightwood, the brains behind this new venture, had infused the concept of fusion in its subtlest of senses. By incorporating spices and techniques reminiscent of some od the most prominent cuisines in the world, the_ Alicante _menu offered a palette that is meant to delight seekers of adventure and food gourmets, while remaining true to the core of Americana cooking, fit for everyday families looking for a delightful meal. The menu is well thought out and carefully constructed, complimented with poignant aperitifs that carry out the theme with splendor and a dessert section that is resplendent. The chocolate lavender mousse with pomegranate and pecan praline in particular, was a mouthful I would not mind revisiting in future ventures. All in all, the new_ Alicante _menu invites all food lovers looking to open up to new cuisines in baby steps, proving for once, that the newer generations of culinary connoisseurs at_ Alicante _may have the talent to succeed where their predecessors had not._ ”

A moment of silence took over the room as everyone digested the review, and he could tell that the silence was also part shock, because _holy shit!_

Alec’s heart was beating in overdrive, the accolades, _because by God that was a raving review_ , echoing in his ear as he tried to comprehend that they’d made it. That was their menu that _Valentine Morgenstern_ was talking about. He looked up at Magnus, who looked as dazed as he felt and let a grin split his lips, seeing it echoed on his boyfriend’s face. They started laughing hysterically, breaking the awed silence in the room, and soon enough everyone was whooping with joy, yelling out different sentences in the review and just talking over each other in excitement. Alec looked into Magnus’ eyes and let the noise fade around them, as he leaned their foreheads together, skimming his nose with Magnus’ and watching his wrinkle at the gesture.

Magnus reached a hand into his hair, playing with the strands, and whispered only for him to hear “Thank you, Alexander”

Alec just smiled and told him in the same low voice “You don’t have to thank me. It was my pleasure to create something like that with you”

Magnus continued smiling, his gaze soft with a sort of adoration that had Alec aching to have him alone “Not for the menu, although I am thankful for that. Thank you for being here, for being you, for going on this adventure with me. There is no one I’d rather have with me”

 _I love you_. The words were a constant loop through Alec’s head. He hadn’t said them yet. It was too soon, and life had been too hectic, but the thought didn’t send him into a panic. On the contrary, it sent a wave of safety over him, as if the certitude of his feelings made him feel secure.

“To many more adventures, Magnus”, he toasted, kissing him softly.

“To us”, Magnus replied and Alec grinned. He liked that. _To us_.

“Did anyone catch the dig at Luke at the end?”, Simon said, reading the review again over Jace’s shoulder, and Catarina snorted. She had finally come up for air from her food, and was delighting in a pot of chocolate mousse.

“We can’t expect him to be a good person all the way, can we?”, she said sarcastically and the group laughed, Isabelle announcing that she was going to have Luke on video call as he read that part. Clary told her that her dad would probably roll his eyes and move on. Valentine and Luke’s animosity was well-documented.

Simon’s voice broke through the noise as he said “Hey, what’s that headline you just scrolled past about Aldertree’s restaurant stopping construction?”

Alec looked at him in alert as Jace looked at the article then back at Alec with wide eyes “It says that his main backer folded out of the deal”

Alec couldn’t believe what he was hearing. What were the odds? He noticed that the man in his lap had gone strangely silent. Magnus was looking at a suspicious stain on his chef’s jacket like it contained the secrets of the universe, and Alec poked him and said in slow voice “Magnus, what did you do?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about”, he replied quickly. Too quickly, and Catarina laughed and said “I know that face, Alec. He is lying through his teeth”

“Magnus, you are my favorite brother-in-law”, Jace said with glee and Magnus looked at him with a smirk and echoed Clary “Your sister is a raging lesbian. I’m the only brother-in-law you’ve got”

Alec laughed along with the group, loving how seamlessly they got together, his family and his future.

“To Magnus”, Isabelle toasted, lifting her hand in the air.

“To Shower gate Michael”, Magnus corrected and everyone dissolved into giggles, Catarina looking between them in confusion.

As they tried to explain it to her, Alec whispered in Magnus’ ear “You really are a menace”

“I try, baby. I try”, Magnus said, patting his head like a toddler.

“I can’t believe you kept this from me. I’ll get you back for this”, Alec promised and Magnus grinned in challenge “huh, maybe in fifty years”

“Plan on knowing me that long, Bane?”, Alec asked teasingly.

“Plan on getting rid of me, Lightwood?”, Magnus rebutted.

“Never”, Alec said, and he meant it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for reading <3 please leave a comment and tell me what you think!
> 
> Thank you for your kind comments and throughful words. I hoard them like the squirrel in Ice Age hoarded that acorn :D
> 
> I'll see you in the next adventure. xoxo


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